Below is a statement of claim from Festus Keyamo Chambers.
Read below..
1. The Plaintiff is a Commissioner of Police and currently
the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The Plaintiff has
had a distinguished career having joined the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission as the pioneer Director of Operations in 2003 and by dint of hard
work and integrity rose to be the Chairman of the anti-graft agency.
2. The
Defendant is the Proprietor and Publisher of a popular Newspaper called Daily
Sun which enjoys wide circulation and readership in Nigeria and abroad.
3. The Plaintiff avers that as a function of
his position, he is at the forefront of the fight against corruption in Nigeria
and he has successfully investigated and prosecuted several corrupt individuals
in Nigeria.
5. The
Plaintiff further avers that in its Daily Sun Newspaper of Thursday, 8th
October, 2015, the Defendant falsely and maliciously caused to be printed and
published the following words of and concerning the Plaintiff:
“N1TRN LOOTED FUNDS LAMORDE, EFCC BOSS, IN SOUP”
6. The
Plaintiff further avers that at page 6 of its Daily Sun Newspaper of Thursday,
8th October, 2015, the Defendant falsely and maliciously caused to be printed
and published the following words of and concerning the Plaintiff as an
elaboration of the above stated headline:
“CHAIRMAN of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, is presently being investigated over allegations of
diversion of over N1 trillion from the sale of confiscated properties belonging
to convicted public officials including former governor of Bayelsa State,
Diepreye Alamieyesiegha and former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun,
among many others.
Daily Sun gathered that the Presidency's searchlight had
actually been on the EFCC following complaints and reports that EFCC operatives
were notoriously letting some financial crimes suspects off the hook rather
than prosecute them.
The decision to launch a full-scale investigation, however,
started after one George Uboh appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics,
Privileges and Public Petitions on August 23 where he alleged that Lamorde
dipped his hands into the said funds.
It was gathered that after his appearance at the Senate, the
Presidency picked interest in the matter and directed the Office of the
National Special Adviser (NSA) to commence investigations into the allegations.
A National Assembly source said thereafter, the NSA, Major
General Babagana Monguno (retd) reportedly swung into action.
"Series of complaints against Lamorde is his perceived
slack supervision of his operatives. There have been series of allegations that
operatives collect bribe from suspects and let them off the hook rather than
investigate allegations thoroughly.
"This investigation is not a witch-hunt...It is meant
to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they are no mere allegations but, they
are weighty enough to warrant presidential scrutiny."
In his petition to the Senate, Uboh said the fraud allegedly
perpetrated by Larmode dated back to his days as the Director of Operations of
the EFCC between 2003 and 2007, as well as an acting Chairman of the commission
between June 2007 and May 2008, when the then chairman of the anti-graft
agency, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, was away for a course at the National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.
Uboh, Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security
Systems, a security firm, in his petition dated July 31 accused Lamorde of some
specific instances of under-remittance and non-disclosure of proceeds of
corruption recovered from criminal suspects, including Balogun and
Alamieyeseigha.
He assured the Senate that he would produce
"overwhelming evidence" to back his claims against Lamorde.
Uboh also alleged that the EFCC had not accounted for
"offshore recoveries" and that "over hall of the assets seized
from suspects are not reflected in EFCC exhibit records."
The petitioner equally accused Lamorde of conspiring with
some EFCC officers and external auditors ''to operate and conceal a recovery
account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and excluded the balances from
your audited financial statements between 2005 and 2011."
"Lamorde continues to conceal the details of the unsold
properties forfeited by both Tafa Balogun and DSP Alamieyeseigha despite
receiving rent revenues from some estate agents on the said properties,"
he further alleged.”
7. The said
words in their natural and ordinary meaning (by direct reference and innuendos)
meant and were understood to mean that:
(a) The Plaintiff
is a fraudulent and corrupt civil servant who engages in diversion of monies
belonging to the government.
(b) The
Plaintiff is a bad and corrupt leader who encourages his Operatives to collect
bribes from suspects.
(c) The
Plaintiff is a hypocrite whose fraudulent activities date back to 2003 when he
was Director of Operations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
8. The
Plaintiff avers that the libelous publication by the Defendant was widely
circulated and read by millions of people in the world and particularly in
Nigeria where the Plaintiff has several associates, friends, family and
professional colleagues.
9. The
Plaintiff avers that by reason of the publication of the words set out in
paragraphs 5 and 6 above and their import set out in paragraph 7, the Plaintiff
has been seriously injured in his character, credit, reputation and integrity
and had been brought to public scandal, odium and contempt and has suffered
damage.
10. The
Plaintiff further avers that immediately after the publication was released, he
received numerous telephone calls from professional colleagues, international
donor agencies, multinational organisations, relations, friends and religious
leaders expressing their utmost disgust and contempt at the Plaintiff’s alleged
disgraceful, unpatriotic and sacrilegious conducts and questioned the integrity
of the Plaintiff.
11. The
Plaintiff avers that the spurious allegations made by the Defendant are untrue
and actuated by malice with intent to malign and undermine the Plaintiff’s
reputation.
PARTICULARS OF MALICE
(a) The
allegations in the publication are false and untrue.
(b) The Defendants
did not conduct any investigation into the truth of the allegations before
publishing them.
(c) The Defendant
did not offer the Plaintiff any opportunity to respond to the allegations
before publishing them.
(d) By publishing
the allegations in a sensational screaming headline, the Defendant evinced the
intention to malign the Plaintiff and drag his reputation in the mud.
12. The
Plaintiff avers that he has suffered tremendous damage to his reputation and if
the Defendant is not restrained, it will further publish injurious articles
against the Plaintiff.
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff claims against the Defendant as
follows:
1. The sum of
N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) only being damages for the words
published of and concerning the Plaintiff which are libelous by direct
reference and innuendo contained at the front page and page 6 of the Daily Sun
of 8th October, 2015 titled ‘N1TRN LOOTED FUNDS: LAMORDE, EFCC BOSS, IN SOUP’
and further elaborated upon at page 6 of the said publication.
2. A retraction
and an unreserved apology by the Defendants for the words published of and
concerning the Plaintiff which are libelous and contained at the front page and
page 6 of the Daily Sun of 8th October, 2015 titled ‘N1TRN LOOTED FUNDS:
LAMORDE, EFCC BOSS, IN SOUP’ and further elaborated upon at page 6 of the said
publication and to be published with the same bold print and on the same front
page as the headline complained of.
3. AN ORDER OF
PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant whether by itself, its agents,
privies or servants from further publishing or causing to be published any
libelous, injurious or defamatory words against the Plaintiff.
4. FOR SUCH
FURTHER ORDER OR OTHER ORDERS as this Honourable court may deem fit to make in
the circumstances of this case.
Dated 12th day of October, 2015.
FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.,
ΓΌ FESTUS UKPE, ESQ.,
FESTUS KEYAMO CHAMBERS.
13, NOUAKCHOTT STREET,
NEAR
KEYSTONE BANK
WUSE ZONE 1, ABUJA
08033371229, 08055028515.
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