A High Court in
Benin City has ordered the publisher of Midwest Herald, Omo-Ojo Orobosa
and one of his reporters to pay a lawmaker ?10 million.
Friday Itulah,
representing Esan North East/Esan South East in the House of
Representatives, had filed a suit accusing Mr Orobosa of libel.
The presiding
judge, A.N Ehigiamusoe, over the weekend found Mr Orobosa, who is the
Special Adviser on Arts and Culture to the State Governor, Adams
Oshiomhole, guilty and ordered him to compensate the lawmaker with the
amount.
Mr Ehigiamusoe also
ordered that the sum of ?30, 000 be paid to the lawmaker as cost of the
protracted litigation, just as he ordered the publisher to retract the
said libelous materials in not more than two national dailies.
Efforts to speak
with Mr Orobosa on his next plan were not successful, but one of his
aides said he will likely appeal the judge.
Mr Itulah, a
Peoples Democratic Party member and two-time speaker of the State House
of Assembly between 2003 and 2007 had dragged Orobosa before the court
in the suit B/478/2007, claiming damages over several libelous
publications against his person and position as the then speaker.
‘Unguarded and libelous publications’
Counsel to the
plaintiff, Lawrence Asirawede said the publications covers alleged
misconduct of the federal legislator while he was the speaker of the
state House of Assembly.
He further stated
that his client (Itulah) decided to head for the court of law rather
than resort to unwholesome means to get justice. He frowned at the
manner with which the publisher and his reporter embarked on making all
sorts of provocative publications against the National Assembly member,
in total defiance of a secured injunction of the court restraining them
from further publications pending the determination of the substantive
suit.
“It is the
accumulation of series of unguarded and libelous publications against
the parliamentarian, Friday Itulah. We tendered all these publications
in court in prove of the publications in question,” Mr Arisawede said.
Mr Itulah also
condemned what he was the manner some journalists have turned the noble
profession into what he called ‘ego pursuits and personal vendetta.’
“So today judgment has come, and as we speak, Mr Orobosa is a
convict and his own newspaper has been asked to pay damages of ten
million naira to my person,” he said.
