The Court docket of Attraction in Abuja on Friday rescheduled two appeals by means of the Socio-Financial Rights and Responsibility Challenge (SERAP) difficult N100 million defamation judgement given in favour of the State Safety Carrier (SSS).
The appeals have been filed one after the other by means of SERAP and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
SERAP and Mr Kolawole lodged the appeals following a 5 Might judgement of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Prime Court docket, Abuja, which discovered SERAP liable for defamation over publications accusing two SSS officials in a newsletter of invading its Abuja place of job in September 2024. The 2 SSS officers are Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele.
A 3-member panel presided over by means of Pass judgement on Danlami Senchi adjourned each appeals on Friday following a war of words over the over the second one enchantment by means of Mr Oluwadare. The court docket held that the enchantment used to be no longer able for listening to.
The court docket additionally vacated its previous resolution to order judgement in SERAP’s enchantment, and set 13 October as new for additional complaints.
War of words over 2nd enchantment
When Mr Oluwadare’s enchantment used to be referred to as, Mr Oluwadare’s attorney, Hannah Ayanwale, knowledgeable the court docket that his enchantment used to be no longer able for listening to since the appellant’s transient used to be simplest filed the day before today. The attorney additionally stated a file used to be inadvertently neglected from the extra document of enchantment, which used to be additionally filed the day before today.
The SSS officers’ attorney, Akinlolu Kehinde, who’s a Senior Recommend of Nigeria, showed provider of the appellant’s transient. He described the enchantment as an abuse of court docket procedure, questioning why two apoeals – one by means of SERAP and the opposite by means of Mr Kolawole – arose from just one judgement given by means of the trial court docket.
He stated his purchasers first of all idea Mr Kolawole had deserted the enchantment by means of no longer submitting the essential processes inside time.
He additionally apologised for no longer submitting an previous software difficult the enchantment and requested the court docket for time to document the respondents’ briefs.
Paul Ngbeoma, attorney to the 3rd respondent in the second one enchantment, additionally apologised to the court docket, noting that his shopper would no longer document processes however would take part within the listening to.
The panel faulted the attorneys to the more than a few events for the tardiness in informing the court docket that the enchantment with pending filings used to be no longer able for listening to.
It then directed the attorneys to the SSS officers to document his purchasers’ respondents’ transient by means of Monday, 12 October, and the appellant to document a respond to the respondents’ transient by means of morning of tomorrow, Tuesday.
The panel stated it previous set a date for the judgement on SERAP’s enchantment since the attorneys didn’t infirm it that each appeals arose from the similar judgement.
Pass judgement on Senchi then set 13 October for the 2 appeals.
Background
SERAP’s newsletter of 9 September 2024 alleged that SSS officers unlawfully entered its Abuja place of job after the organisation referred to as on President Bola Tinubu to research corruption allegations involving the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Corporate Restricted and opposite will increase in petrol costs.
The publications described the officers as “a tall, huge, dark-skinned lady” and “a slender, dark-skinned guy” however didn’t determine them by means of title.
SSS later filed the go well with along two of its operatives, who alleged that SERAP’s publications defamed them.
They sought N5 billion in damages, arguing that the allegations had broken their reputations.
Alternatively, SERAP maintained in its remark of defence that SSS operatives had entered its Abuja place of job.
Handing over judgement on 5 Might, Pass judgement on Yusuf Halilu of the FCT Prime Court docket discovered SERAP liable for defamation and awarded N100 million in damages towards the organisation.
Disillusioned, SERAP appealed towards the judgement, arguing that the claimants – the 2 officers of the SSS – didn’t identify that the publications referred particularly to them since the experiences didn’t point out their names, ranks, designations or workplaces, or come with their pictures.
READ ALSO: SERAP appeals against SSS officials N100m defamation judgement, seeks stay of execution
The organisation additionally argued that no impartial witness testified that they’d learn the publications and understood them to check with the claimants.
It challenged the trial pass judgement on’s reliance on his personal commentary of the claimants’ bodily appearances to conclude that the descriptions recognized them.
It additionally requested the Court docket of Attraction to put aside the judgement and the consequential orders.
SERAP is a Nigerian civil society organisation that makes use of litigation, analysis and advocacy to advertise human rights, transparency and duty in governance.
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