3 November 2008
Lagos — Judgment was given last week in the one billion naira libel suit instituted by Mrs. Remi Oyo, former Special Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, against Gazetta Communications Limited, Publishers of The Abuja Inquirer, and Dan Akpovwa, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the weekly newspaper.
At the resumed hearing of the case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, presided over by Justice Baba Yusuf, Barrister Sadiq Odariko, from Bayo Ojo's Chambers, who represented the plaintiff, Mrs Remi Oyo, informed the court that both parties to the case had reached an out-of-court settlement and would like the court to adopt the terms of settlement as judgment of the court.
This position was supported by the The Abuja Inquirer counsel, Barrister Bassey E. Offiong, a renowned Abuja lawyer, who further urged the court to adopt the submission of the Plaintiff's counsel as being the agreed position of the parties.
This position thus ended many months of intense legal fireworks.The settlement which formed the judgment of the court was facilitated by mutual friends of the parties in the media.
After the judgment, a somewhat satisfied Dan Akpovwa, publisher of the weekly newspaper, who was in court with several members of staff, said: "Justice has been served. We have a lot of respect for Mrs Remi Oyo. We didn't willfully set out to malign her and she knows that. We are happy that this whole saga has come to an end. I would like to thank our mutual friends who intervened to make this amicable settlement possible."
Mrs. Oyo, who is the present Managing Director of News Agency Of Nigeria, NAN, had instituted the case nearly two years ago, claiming one billion naira as damages from The Abuja Inquirer and its publisher, Dan Akpovwa for an article published in the OP-ED section of the newspaper issue of January 8 to 14 2007.
She engaged the services of a legal giant, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, former NBA President and Obasanjo's Attorney General, to represent her, while The Abuja Inquirer engaged the services of a noted Abuja based law firm of B. E. Offiong and Co to defend them. After several battles in the court, and meetings outside the court, the case was finally resolved.Mrs. Oyo, who was not in court during the hearing, could not be reached for her comments.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
