During the proceeding on Mr Oneyeama's libel suit in Abuja on Thursday, the judge said the ex-minister's legal adversary could testify from her base in the US.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court at Zuba, Abuja, has acceded to a request by Lilian Onoh, a former Nigerian ambassador, and resident in the United States to testify via Zoom in a libel suit filed against her by Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria's immediate-past Minister of Affairs.
Mr Onyeama lodged the libel case against Ms Onoh, who was a career ambassador, accusing her of portraying him as being corrupt in a series of media publications while he served as foreign minister in former President Muhammadu Buhari's regime.
In the former in-laws' unfolding legal battle, Ms Onoh recently counter-sued Mr Onyeama in a US court, also accusing him of defamation.
Ms Onoh, who is a sister to Mr Onyeama's former wife, had also extended the battle to the National Judicial Council (NJC), where she filed a petition seeking that disciplinary action be taken against the judge for being allegedly biased in her handling of the case.
Virtual testimony
During the Nigerian proceeding in Abuja on Thursday, the judge, Kesia Ogbonnaya, said Ms Onoh could testify from her base in the US.
In addition, the judge ordered the defendant to file her statement of defence alongside her witness statement on oath before the next hearing of the suit.
The order followed a request by Ms Onoh's lawyer, Monday Ejeh, praying the court for time to file the necessary court documents in defence of his client's case.
Mr Onyeama's lawyer, Agada Elachi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), did not object to the filing of the papers out of time.
Thereafter, Ms Ogbonnaya adjourned the suit until 24 January "for final and definite hearing" of Ms Onoh's defence in the matter.
In a stern warning to the defendant's lawyer, however, the judge said "If the 1st defendant (Ms Onoh) is not ready to do the matter, this court will do the needful."
Ms Onoh had accused the judge of bias in her handling of the suit, calling on Ms Ogbonnaya to recuse herself from the case. However, the judge insisted on hearing and determining the matter.
Ms Onoh also accused the claimant, Mr Onyeama, of colluding with court officials to keep court filings away from her, a development that led to the hearing of the case without her knowledge.
Thursday's brickbats
At the resumed proceedings on Thursday, Mr Ejeh made frantic efforts to convince Ms Ogbonnaya to allow his client to file her statement of defence and to testify virtually from the US.
The defence lawyer referenced some provisions of the Evidence Act 2023 to buttress his argument that his request had a statutory basis.
But the judge expressed her reservations in granting an adjournment, saying that the suit had suffered "undue delays" in its almost one-year period.
"For the umpteenth time, this matter is being unduly delayed. This case has been adjourned five times since it was filed in January 2023, This matter will not exceed January," Ms Ogbonnaya said in response to Mr Ejeh's request for an adjournment.
Mr Ejeh had sought the adjournment of the case until February to enable his client to prepare for the virtual court sessions.
But, Mr Onyeama's lawyer, Mr Elachi, had contended that Thursday's session was meant for Ms Onoh's defence in the case.
The defence lawyer explained that the basis for his application for an adjournment was because he came into the case newly.
Subsequently, Mr Ejeh withdrew the defendant's statement of defence earlier filed by Ms Onoh's former lawyer.
Judge cautions PREMIUM TIMES over reportage of proceedings
The judge warned this newspaper concerning its extensive reportage of the suit.
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"PREMIUM TIMES, you have to listen well and report only what transpires in court," Ms Ogbonnaya remarked as the sitting progressed on Thursday.
She said her pictures and other personal details were published in the wake of the case.
"Whoever writes what is not true about me will die," the judge said.
This newspaper has reported on the petition Ms Onoh filed against the judge at the NJC and the suit that she filed against Mr Onyeama in the US, but it is unclear if those were what inspired the judge to caution that media reports should be restricted to what transpired during court proceedings in the case before her.
This newspaper has never used her picture to illustrate any reports on the suit or other related matters, our review shows, indicating that the judge had possibly mixed up PREMIUM TIMES with other platforms that are similarly reporting the case. The mix-up might have led her to erroneously isolate this newspaper to be cautioned on Thursday.
