Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has slammed a N7 Billion suit against ThisDay Newspapers being damages for libel written and published in ThisDay’s Tuesday, June 23, 2020 edition.
A statement by Paulinus Nsirim, Rivers state Commissioner for Information and Communications, said that in the publication captioned, “With Wike, Obaseki Meets His PDP’S Waterloo, Almost,” the Defendants maliciously and falsely portrayed the Claimant as an unreliable friend/person.
The suit filed at the Port Harcourt High Court by Governor Wike’s Counsel, Emmanuel C.Ukala, Esq, S.A.N, FCIArb, claims further that the Defendants also portrayed Governor Wike as a selfish politician and a person who meddled in and exerts subterranean influence in judicial matters in courts sitting in Port Harcourt to achieve selfish political interest and that he is not a true democrat.
Wike is therefore seeking an order of mandatory injunction compelling the Defendants to withdraw, retract and recant the said libellous publication.
The retraction is to be published at the front page(and to devote the whole full front page to the publication of the retraction).
ThisDay Newspaper is also to publish an apology in the terms acceptable to the Claimant and with his prior approval at the back page( on the full back page) in the same edition on which the retraction is published, and two consecutive editions of ThisDay Newspapers.
The Claimant is also seeking an order of injunction restraining the Defendants by themselves or by their servants, agents, privies and associates from further publishing the said libel or any manner however and whatsoever continuing to circulate the said libellous publication concerning the Claimant.
