The
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus,
has dragged the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed to court for defamation of character.
Mohammed
had on Friday, last week, mentioned Secondus in the first list of those
he claimed looted the nation’s treasury. He alleged that the national
chairman of the main opposition party collected N200m from the former
National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd.). Secondus, who
denied the allegation, said he was embarrassed by the minister’s claimHe
claimed through a letter from his lawyer, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN ), that
he did not collect money and asked the minister to retract his
statement. He also asked for the payment of N1.5b as damages and a
public apology within 48 hours. The letter told Mohammed to note that if
he failed to meet their demand after 48 hours, ” We shall within 72
hours from today, proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to
ventilate our clients right under the law and shall further seek the
protection of the court against you.”
Having failed to meet the
demand, Secondus on Friday, made good his threat and filed a suit at
the High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, claiming among other
things that the court awards to him the sum of N1.5bn being damages for
humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and
integrity as a result of the publication. He is asking the court to
direct him to retract the said publication and apologise to him in
writing.