El-Rufia charges PDP to court over defamation

 

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT)   Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has dragged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh and Thisday Newspaper Limited before an Abuja High Court over alleged malicious and defamatory publication against him.

El-Rufai, is asking the court to order the defendants to pay him N1.5 billion as general damages for injury, embarrassment and distress he suffered in respect of the loss of reputation and goodwill as a result of the “unwarranted and defamatory utterances” against him allegedly published in March 17 and 23, 2014 editions of ThisDay newspapers.

The Plaintiff also prayed for a court order directing the defendants to publish an apology, with the same prominence as the offending publication against him as well as an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further publishing a defamatory content against him.
The publication referred to said, “In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, yesterday, PDP alleged that there was sufficient evidence to show that states controlled by the APC and its chieftains had benefited from the financial recklessness of the suspended CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
“Specifically, PDP cited the issuance of an APC chieftain, ostensibly, the former Minister of FCT, Nasir El-Rufai, who collected N1.5 billion diverted to APC to enable it open offices across the federation.”
El-Rufai said the publication has done irreparable injury and damage to his hard-earned reputation by portraying him as a corrupt, money laundering, reckless, lawless, greedy and unscrupulous public figure.
The case comes up for mention on June 5, 2014 before an Abuja High Court sitting in Gudu.
PDP national secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo told newsmen at the party’s national secretariat yesterday in Abuja that: “we will defend our party, we will defend the federal government and most importantly, we will defend our nascent democracy because we believe that we are the ruling party, we owe a duty to Nigerians home and abroad to defend democracy. All anti-democratic forces that are creating instability in this nation they will be exposed with facts and figures.”
“No amount of intimidation, blackmail will stop us from providing the necessary good leadership to millions of Nigerians. Any attempt to single out any one of us for prosecution will be vehemently resisted by the PDP using all legal means at its disposal. We are ready to defend our party and our national publicity secretary where such defense is required,” he added.