•Tinubu: demands retraction and apology from Daar and AIT

EROMOSELE EBHOMELE

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nigeria’s main opposition party, has taken his threat against Daar Communications Plc, owners of the African Independent Television, AIT, further by instituting a N150 billion suit against the television station at the court.

Tinubu is battling the media organisation for airing an alleged image damaging documentary against his person. AIT claims the documentary which it has aired since Sunday was sponsored but has not told anyone who the sponsors are.

Prior to going to court, Tinubu had written organisation through his counsel, Tunji Abayomi, to request that the airing of the documentary be stopped with a public apology. He also demanded for N20 billion as cost of damages done by the action of the media organisation.

But Daar Communications Plc replied through Mike Ozekhome, its counsel, demanding for a public apology from Tinubu for issuing the letter of threat, the withdrawal of the letter and N100 billion as cost of damages done by Tinubu’s letter to the organisation.

The media organisation also described as laughable Tinubu’s threat since it was only carrying out its constitution-assigned role.

In a motion exparte filed before an Ikeja, Lagos High Court on Friday, the court granted an accelerated hearing for the motion on notice in the case of defamatory and libellous documentary aired on DAAR Communications, AIT.

In this case, the accelerated hearing comes up on Monday 16, March.

The exparte motion is seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the respondent, AIT whether by itself, agents, privies and or other persons from producing or continuing to broadcast, airing, or continuing to reproduce any defamatory documentary against the applicant which AIT started to broadcast on Sunday 1 March, 2015 and has been repeating on a daily basis since then, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction dated 5 March, 2015 filed in this suit.

The motion, according to Tinubu’s media office, further noted as a fact that damages would not adequately compensate the applicant/claimant if this ex-parte order is not granted.

It prayed that the rest of this suit may be extinguished if the ex-parte order is not granted since there is real, imminent and urgent threat and danger of continuing to decimate the person and integrity of the applicant by the respondent by continuing to air the offensive broadcast if the ex-parte motion is not granted.

The motion also states that unless this application is granted, the defendant would not relent or suspend the broadcast of the said libellous documentary and that it is in the interest of justice to grant this application.

It argued that the legal effect of the filing and notification of the pendency of a law suit under the legal doctrine of lis pendens is that all parties should exercise extreme caution, particularly, restraint in continuing with the act complained of adding that this is the minimal requirement of any law abiding citizen.

“This duty also extends to other members of the society who are expected to refrain from aggravating the damage complained of or in any way contributing to the quantum of damage. It takes on a more compelling dimension in this instance where the claimant has applied for injunctive restraining orders against the material complained against,” the applicant prayed through his legal team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN.

Dr. Tunji Abayomi is also part of the legal team.