An Abuja High Court sitting at Gudu, on Thursday, June 5, 2014 slated June 19, 2014 to commence hearing on the suit that was filed against the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, by former minister of the federal capital territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
The former minister who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, dragged PDP to court following allegation that he has links with the Boko Haram terrorist sect.
He is praying the court to award the sum of N1.5billion as exemplary and aggravated damages against both the PDP and its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, for using a false allegation to tarnish his public image.
Besides, the plaintiff, told the court that Metuh had in several publications that was sponsored by the PDP, alleged that he (El-Rufai) collected N5bn as consultancy fee from the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Metuh was said to have made the claims in the March 17 and 23 editions of This Day Newspaper.
In the suit dated April 2, 2014, El-Rufai, equally joined the newspaper as the third defendant in the matter.
The former minister insisted that the publications greatly damaged his reputation and occassioned an irreparable damage to his hard-earned public image by portraying him as a corrupt, money laundering, reckless, lawless, greedy and unscrupulous public figure.
He maintained that the publications were “in furtherance of the defendants’ campaign of calumny” against him.
The court had on May 20 ordered service of the court processes on all the defendants.
Consequently, the 1st and 2nd defendants, PDP and Metuh, respectively, yesterday, secured leave of the court to file a preliminary objection against the suit before the next adjourned date.
Specifically, the plaintiff is seeking an order awarding N1bn as general damages against Metuh and PDP.
He is further asking for another order awarding additional N500m as general damages jointly and severally against all the three defendants.
Moreso, the ex-Minister, is urging the court to award cost in his favour for “the injury, embarrassment and distress suffered by the plaintiff in respect of the loss of reputation and goodwill as a result of the malicious, unwarranted and defamatory utterance against the person of the plaintiff.”
He prayed for an order declaring that he was “deservingly entitled to a written apology from the defendants, published with the same prominence as the offending publications”.
El-Rufai, wants the court to give an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further defaming him.
