Nigerian USA-Based Ogechi Njaka Sues Blogger Obinwanne Valentine For N1 Billion For Defamation

Popular Facebook user Ogechi Njaka has filed a libel suit against blogger Obinwanne Valentine Nonso.

In the suit before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, the claimant accused Obinwanne of using his blog to defame her reputation before right-thinking members of the public across Nigeria and the globe.

The suit was filed on March 12, 2024, by Ogechi’s young human rights lawyer, Barrister Joel Karatu.

In the statement of claim, the plaintiff’s lawyer told the court that his client operates a non-governmental organization called Ogel Helping Hands Foundation.

However, the defendant, Obinwanne Valentine, used his blog through YouTube and Facebook mostly to post “numerous slanderous and defamatory video contents which are defamatory to the personality of the plaintiff,” Mr. Karatu argued.

He further said Ogechi has family members, church members and friends who are active on social media. These persons drew Ogechi’s attention to the said libellous contents that were posted by Obinwanne Valentine on his social media handles.

The lawyer referenced a particular issue where the defendant published on the Internet that the plaintiff had been declared wanted by the police for fraudulent activities. But, a federal judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, in February 2022, nullified and struck out the said arrest warrant earlier issued by the Nigerian police against the plaintiff.

“The plaintiff avers that the action of the defendant of sharing contents on social media to millions of right-thinking members of the society on the issue she is not responsible for and the court has not declared her responsible for is a breach of her civil rights,” the lawyer contended.

In another instance, the plaintiff said Obinwanne allegedly published a picture purporting to be the private part of the plaintiff.

In urging the court to do justice in the matter, the plaintiff prayed it to declare that the various videos and publications authored by the defendant and circulated on his social media pages are “libellous, false, malicious, injurious and intended to lower the reputation and integrity of the plaintiff” before the public.

The plaintiff’s lawyer prayed the court to order Obinwanne Valentine to retract the alleged libellous publications against his client and “publish an unreserved apology in at least three national dailies within seven days from the date of judgement.”

The lawyer also begged the court to order the defendant to pay the sum of N1 billion as damages for the “false, injurious, malicious and libellous publications.”