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Obanikoro sues Sahara Reporters in New York

Two weeks after his lawyers issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter to online newspaper, Sahara Report­ers, former Minister of State for Defence and new­ly-confirmed Ministerial nominee, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has sued the media outfit and its pub­lisher, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, in New York, United States of America for defamation.

Tacopina & Seigel, Sena­tor Obanikoro’s U.S. attor­neys had issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter to Sahara Re­porters, urging the media outfit to desist from further defaming Obanikoro and retract its earlier defama­tory publications on the purported Ekiti audio re­cording, none to which Sa­hara Reporters complied. In a suit filed on behalf of Obanikoro at the Supreme Court of the State of New York dated 9th March, 2015, by Tacopina & Seigel, the former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana is seeking legal redress to the tune of a minimum of $5 million.

According to the suit, with Index No: 152332/2015, the nature of this court ac­tion is for defamation aris­ing from false and dispar­aging statements credited to the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele So­wore, during a February 14, 2015 “Sit Out” and on the Sahara Reporters website;

“First, that Senator Musiliu Obanikoro “has killed many people in Lagos State” and is a murderer.”

“And secondly, that the Sahara Reporters’ website has an audio recording of a purported meeting between Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, Governor Ayo Fayose, Gen. Aliyu Momoh and others that allegedly evidence that: (a) soldiers were paid with a “huge stash of cash” to rig an election in Ekiti; (b) Gen. Momoh was bribed “for his assistance in carrying out election fraud in Ekiti”; (c) “Governor Fayose revealed that he had already bribed an official”; (d) there was “forging in INEC ballots”; and (e) the military pre­vented APC voters from reaching the polls.”

The relief sought is monetary damages (both compensatory and puni­tive) to be determined at trial, but for no less than $5,000,000, as well as pre-judgment interest, and the costs and disbursements of this action.

 

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Ihesiulo Grace

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