A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Monday has ordered Minister of Information Lai Mohammed and the federal government to stop further mention of the name of PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus as one of the looters the APC government is listing out currently.
The restriction holds pending the determination of a defamation suit Secondus brought before the court.
Secondus went to Rivers High Court presided over by the Justice I.A. Iyayi-Lamikanra, filing a suit referenced PHC/1013/2018, and seeking N1.5bn as damages over the publishing of his name in the media as one of those allegedly involved in the looting of the nation’s treasury.
The FG claimed Secondus received N200 million from the office of the then National Security Adviser on February 19, 2015.
Secondus sued the minister and the federal government and Vintage Press, publishers of the Nation, seeking order to make the defendants retract the said publication and apologise in writing to him (claimant) for the defamatory publication.
The defendants and their counsels were absent in court when the matter was mentioned for hearing.
The trial judge then adjourned the matter till May 28, 2018.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after court session, lead counsel for Secondus, Mr. Emeka Etiaba, SAN, insisted that there was no truth in the claim against his client.
“The prayers are that they retract the libellous material in as many media as they published it, payment of N1.5bn to Prince Secondus as damages. The judge has granted the restraining order,” he said.
He added his client is satisfied with (the granting of) prayer one, which effectively halts further libel.