By Sophia Afolabi
The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Jabi has commenced hearing in the ₦550 million defamation suit filed by Senator Chris Anyanwu against former Imo State Governor, Ikedi Ohakim.
Justice M.I. Sani overruled a preliminary objection by Ohakim’s legal team seeking to halt the trial pending the conduct of a pre-trial conference.
Lead counsel to the defendant, Ken Njemanze (SAN), argued that the matter was not ripe for hearing under court rules, noting that no pre-trial conference had been conducted to streamline issues.
However, counsel to the claimant, Umeh Kalu (SAN), opposed the objection, insisting that the plaintiff was ready to proceed.
“There is no requirement for a pre-trial conference in this matter. Our witnesses have travelled long distances and are ready to testify. We cannot enslave ourselves to procedural technicalities when the interest of justice is at stake. No party will suffer any injustice if we proceed to trial.”
He further submitted that “there is nothing as pre-trial in the case. The relevant order in this case is Order 38 (1). It clearly empowers the Court to proceed to trial when pleadings have been made by the parties. The two parties are in court, and we are ready for trial.”
Justice Sani, in a brief ruling, dismissed the objection and allowed the trial to commence. “I hereby order the plaintiff’s counsel to proceed with his witnesses.”
The claimant’s first witness, Dr Joyce Ejukonemu, a Senior Researcher, was led in evidence by Kunle Kosoko of Umeh Kalu Chambers.
She adopted her witness statement on oath and referenced The Nation newspaper publication dated January 12, 2025, alongside a press release issued on January 24 by Ohakim.
Kalu sought to tender copies of the publication and press release as exhibits. However, Njemanze objected, arguing that the documents were inadmissible.
“These are photocopies, not original certified true copies as required under Section 104 of the Evidence Act. There is no receipt showing payment for certification, either,” he said.
Kalu countered that the documents bore the necessary endorsements from the National Library and complied with the law.
“Section 104 allows for certified copies, and the endorsement shows payment was made,” he argued, before applying to tender the original certified copy.
Despite further resistance from the defence, the court admitted the documents in evidence, marking the newspaper publication as Exhibit 1.
“This court has the discretion to admit any relevant document,” Justice Sani ruled.
Kalu proceeded to tender further documents, including a January 24, 2025 press statement and a copy of a report from Naija News.
Njemanze objected to the Naija News document on the grounds that it was electronically generated and not accompanied by a certificate of compliance under Section 84 of the Evidence Act, and to the Naija News report on the grounds that it was a photocopy and no foundation was laid.
Kalu responded to the objection and submitted that the certificate required by Section 84 of the Evidence Act can be done orally or by producing a certificate, and that the witness statement on oath contains the oral certification.
He, however, opted to withdraw the press release without further submissions.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to December 1, 3, and 5, 2025, for ruling on pending admissibility issues and continuation of the trial.
Anyawu drops The Nation from suit
Mrs Anyawu’s lead counsel, Umeh Kalu, informed the court of his client’s decision to free the second defendant, Vintage Press Ltd, publisher of The Nation newspaper, from the suit.
Trial judge, Mr Sani, asked the lawyer to file a proper application to reflect the development.
The former senator sued The Nation’s publisher and parent company, Vintage Press Ltd, as the second defendant.
The publisher has since admitted its error and retracted Mr Ohakim’s alleged defamatory comments made in an interview published on 12 January.
The newspaper has since published a retraction of the interview and an apology to Mrs Anyanwu.
Background
Mrs Anyanwu, a journalist turned politician who represented the Imo East senatorial district in Nigeria’s Senate from 2007 to 2015, filed a defamation suit against Mr Ohakim, following an interview the former governor granted The Nation Newspaper, which was published on 12 January, 2025.
In the disputed interview, Mr Ohakim accused the ex-senator of failing to mention in her book, ‘Bold Leap,’ that she apologized to the late military Head of State, Sani Abacha, over a coup d’etat she authored during the maximum ruler’s regime.
Mrs Anyanwu, who was arrested in 1995 for being an “accessory after the fact of treason,” following her reporting on a failed coup d’état against the government of Sani Abacha, denied apologising to the dictator.
Mrs Anyanwu was prosecuted behind the camera by a military court and sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 July 1995. The sentence was later reduced to 15 years in October 1995 following pressure from national and international human rights groups. She was released by the regime of Abubakar Abdusalami, who took office as the Head of State after Mr Abacha died in 1998.
Incensed by Mr Ohakim’s remarks suggesting that she apologized to the late Abacha, Mrs Anyanwu dared the former governor to publish the apology letter she had written to the late military head of state.
She subsequently filed a defamation suit seeking N550 million in damages against Mr Ohakim over the alleged defamation in the Nation interview and a press statement released by the former governor’s aide, Amanze Ajoku.
But Mr Ohakim justified his comment in the defence he filed against the suit. While admitting making the comments, he justified them as fair. He also declared his intention to publish in his forthcoming book the apology letter Mrs Anyanwu purportedly sent to the late military Head of State, Mr Abacha.
But for its part, The Nation newspaper conceded making an error publishing the interview and subsequently retracted it. It notified the court of this development in its filing submitted to the court on 1 June.
