N500m suit: Serve Metuh the necessary papers, Lagos High Court directs Mohammed’s lawyers, adjourns till Nov. 17

Claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, on being unaware of any suit filed against him by his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, may have informed the adjournment of the hearing slated for Tuesday on the case which came up at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja,

In adjourning the case till November 17, Presiding judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, directed Mohammed’s lawyer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, to ensure service of all the court papers on Metuh and adjourned for report of service and hearing of the pending application.

The court had sat to hear the N500m defamation suit filed by Alhaji Mohammed, against Chief Metuh.

Mohammed, in the suit filed at the Ikeja court claims to have been defamed by a press release allegedly authored and circulated on September 20, 2015 by Metuh, had last week filed the N500m defamation suit.

Mohammed alleged that Metuh, in the said release, accused him of embezzling the funds meant for the fencing of an airport in one of the APC-controlled states in the South-West.

Mohammed also claimed that Metuh said he (Mohammed) obtained money to supply ambulances to one APC-controlled state in the South-West but never did so.

Mohammed further claimed that Metuh, in the statement, had allegedly wondered where Mohammed got the courage to speak on corruption when indeed the APC spokesman had mastered the art of corruption having been “a personal aide to one of the most corrupt politicians to ever bestride the political space of the country.”

Mohammed, who said he was a one-time coordinator of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation, claimed that the statement credited to Metuh was carefully calculated to inflict damage on his reputation and to lessen him in the estimation of the public.

He is seeking an order mandating Metuh to not only retract the statement but to also tender published apology to him in a widely read newspaper for seven consecutive days.

He is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Metuh and his privies from further publishing or disseminating libelous materials against him.

However, reacting to the suit last week, through his Special Assistant, Richard Ihediwa, the PDP spokesman, insisted he is not aware of any such action by the APC spokesman.

“The attention of the Office of The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to reports in some section of the media, suggesting that the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has filed a suit against Chief Olisa Metuh.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this office wishes to state categorically that Chief Olisa Metuh or any of his lawyers are not aware of any such suit by Lai Mohammed, nor have they been served. Also, none of the newspapers that carried the story published the said suit.

“If it is true that any legal action has been instituted, it should not be limited to newspaper reports, unless it is meant for the media, as Chief Metuh is a prominent Nigerian whose office and residential address are well known.

“We are very much aware that Lai Mohammed as a ministerial nominee may have been nervous and apprehensive of the requirements of his upcoming screening in the Senate, and as a renown propagandist, may have decided to orchestrate reports of the said suit, to plead subjudice as a defence ostensibly to stop queries by senators on issues of integrity.

“This office however, insists that if indeed, Lai Mohammed has instituted any case against Chief Metuh, we charge him to ensure that he prosecutes it to the very end.