Alhaji Lai Mohammed, spokesperson of the ruling All Progressives Congress and a ministerial nominee has filed a N500m defamation lawsuit against his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh. Mohammed filed the suit on Monday, before the Lagos State High court, Ikeja.
The APC spokesperson claimed that Metuh had defamed him in a press release, written on September 20, 2015. Mohammed said Metuh claimed in the release that he embezzled the funds meant for fencing of an airport in an APC state in the South-West as well as obtaining funds to supply ambulances to, which he failed to do.
Metuh had said in the statement: “Our final word for the APC spokesman on this, is that being ethically challenged, includes embezzling funds meant for fencing an airport in an APC-led South-West state. “It also includes when one fraudulently refuses to supply ambulances after collecting monies from another APC South-West state. “It is a comedy of roles when Alhaji Lai Mohammed speaks on corruption, a topic he practices and has well learnt, being a personal aide to one of the most corrupt politicians to ever bestride the political landscape of the country.”
According to Mohammed, the statement was “carefully calculated to inflict damage on my reputation and to lessen me in the estimation of the public.” The ministerial nominee claimed that Mehuh’s words injured his “character in a grave manner and caused him considerable reputational destruction and embarrassment.”
Mohammed is seeking an order mandating Metuh to retract his statement and also tender a published apology to him in a national newspapers or seven consecutive days.
