The Court of Appeal, Abuja, has ordered the retrial of the N5billion defamation case filed against the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami by the Chairman of Africa Independent Television, AIT, Raymond Dokpesi, in which a High Court had held that the appellant failed to prove his case.
According to Sahara Reporters, Dokpesi had alleged on March 30, 2019, during a media conference that Mohammed and Malami defamed his character where the information minister referred to him as one of the looters of Nigeria’s treasury.
Justice Olukayode Adeniyi had in a judgment in Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/1615/2018, delivered on July 6, 2021, held that Dokpesi failed to establish his claim that Mohammed defamed him by including his name in a list that he termed “looters of the Nigerian treasury”, at a press conference he (Mohammed) addressed on March 30, 2018.
Appealing this decision, Ozekhome argued that Dokpesi had proved the essential element of publication of the libel because Lai Mohammed had himself put forward the defence of fair comment and qualified privilege, which was itself clearly an admission of publication by him.
The appellate court agreed with Ozekhome and upturned the judgment, holding that the decision of the lower court was erroneous, having not given Dokpesi a fair hearing before dismissing his suit.
The three-man panel of Justices further held that the lower court did not dispassionately hear the suit and thereby committed a fatal error. Consequently, the court nullified the decision of the trial court on the ground that the appellant was not given fair hearing and ordered trial of the suit denovo, before any other Judge of the FCT High Court, other than Justice Olukayode Adeniyi.
