Home FEATURES Treasury Looting List: Secondus Drags Lai Mohammad To Court, Claims N1.5 Billion...

Treasury Looting List: Secondus Drags Lai Mohammad To Court, Claims N1.5 Billion Damages

PDP Chairman Uche Secondus and Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus dragged the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to court for defamation of character and asking for N1.5 Billion as damages.

The Minister had mentioned Prince Secondus in the list of those he claimed looted the nation’s treasury, alleging that he collected N200 million from the former National Security Adviser (NSA).

Secondus who said he never collected a dime from the former NSA through his lawyer Emeka Etiaba SAN, wrote to the Minister seeking the immediate retraction of the National Chairman’s name on the list, payment of N1.5 billion damages and public apology within 48 hours.

In the letter, the PDP boss said that if Lai Mohammad failed to meet the demand after 48 hours, he would proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to ventilate his right under the law.

Having failed to  meet the demand, Prince Secondus today, Friday, the PDP chairmsn filed a suit at the Port Harcourt High Court, Rivers state, claiming among other things, that the court awards to him the sum of N1.5 billion being damages for humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication.

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According to a statement from the PDP National Chairman’s Spokesperson, Ike Abonyi, Secondus, in the suit no/PHC/1013/2018, is also claiming that Lai Mohammad’s publication is defamatory and is asking the court to direct him to retract the said publication and apologize in writing.

He asked Lai Mohammed to publish the retraction and apology in all the social media, including but not limited to the Following newspapers, the Nation, Thisday, The Sun, Guardian and Punch as well as in The following television channels, NTA and Channels Televisions among others where the defamatory story was published.

Secondus is also asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publishing defamatory materials against him.

Joined in the suit are the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Attorney General of the Federation and the Vintage Press ltd, publishers of the Nation Newspapers.