Defamation: Appeal Court Dismisses Suit Against LEADERSHIP, Reporter

The Appellate Court in Sokoto, has affirmed the judgement of the Sokoto State High Court, dismissing a case filed against LEADERSHIP newspaper and its reporter, Sharfaddeen Sidi Umar for allegedly defaming the former chairman of the Sokoto State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Labaran Lumo Dundaye.

Justice Victoria Nwoye, who read the judgement, dismissed the suit unanimously agreed by five judges.

It would be recalled that, Dundaye, who filed the suit in 2016, sued LEADERSHIP as the first defendant and Sokoto State LEADERSHIP Hausa reporter, Umar as the second defendant seeking N50 million as damages and apology to be published in three national newspapers.

The High Court Judge, Umar Dogon-Daji in his ruling, held that the plaintiff had failed miserably in presenting strong evidence against which he accused the defendants of defamation.

The judge said that in all the three publications in LEADERSHIP Hausa in 2012 and 2015 relating to NUJ Sokoto election, Labaran failed to present any actual defamation statement.

Justice Dogondaji also held that the plaintiff had failed to present a third piece of evidence to substantiate the allegations of defamation, adding that the defendant had convinced the court that instead of the plaintiff’s integrity being squandered, further progress had been made after the publications.

The suit was first heard before Chief Justice Bello Abbas, who dismissed it in February 2016 after which Dundaye filed another in April 2016.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the judgement, the lawyer for the second defendant (Sharfaddeen Umar), Mr Simon Enojo King, said the court had done the right thing by dismissing the case as baseless.