N2bn libel verdict can shut down Compass newspaper – Lawyer

The senior lawyers, while speaking to our reporter on the judgment said if the affected newspaper had the money, it must pay the governor or appeal the court ruling until it gets a reduction of the damages awarded. Umar added that in a situation where the organization was unable to pay the sum awarded as […]

The senior lawyers, while speaking to our reporter on the judgment said if the affected newspaper had the money, it must pay the governor or appeal the court ruling until it gets a reduction of the damages awarded.
Umar added that in a situation where the organization was unable to pay the sum awarded as damages, the governor would go after the assets of the company.
He said, “Where they didn’t appeal against the ruling and they are unable to pay, he will start going after the assets of the company, like their vehicles, printing machines, office furniture and everything. When that is exhausted, he will go after their unmovable assets. If they are unable to pay that may mean the end of the paper”.
An Ado-Ekiti High Court last week Monday awarded the sum of N2 billion as damages against the Compass Newspapers in a libel suit instituted by Governor, Fayemi.
Apart from the N2 billion damages, the newspaper house was also ordered by the court to publish a retraction and apology to Governor Fayemi in three national dailies and on the Internet.
Fayemi had approached the court over a publication by the Compass Newspaper in its Saturday, August 25, 2012 edition, where it reported that the governor was deducting N1 billion illegally from the local government account in the state.
Remi Koleoso, of the Abuja Bureau of the Newspaper, who wrote the story was also joined in the suit.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Cornelius Akintayo, said Governor Fayemi was able to prove the six ingredients of libel among which are the personality involved, nature, mode of the publication and failure of the defendants to show remorse.
He also awarded another N50,000 as cost of the suit and 10 percent interest rate on the imposed fine starting from the day of judgment till the fine is paid.
Speaking on the judgment, the claimant’s counsel Rafiu Balogun, praised the judiciary for standing by the law. He said the defendants failed to establish the claims in the story when confronted with facts, a development which he said was against the tenets of journalism, which is premised on truth and fairness.
Also reacting, the chief press secretary to Governor Fayemi, who was a prosecution witness in the case, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said, “the judgment would serve as a lesson to those who like to engage in reckless and malicious allegations.”
He advised that journalists should always cross check their facts before publishing stories.