Thu 22 Dec 
Alleged sex scandal: Chime sues
On December 22, 2011 · In News 

BY TONY EDIKE
ENUGU—Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has slammed a N2.7 billion libel suit against the publication of a story, alleging that the younger sister of his wife had delivered a baby for him.

The governor in suit filed at the High Court Registry Enugu is asking for a declaration that by printing and publication of the article,the defendant was liable to the plaintiff for libel.

He is also seeking general damages in the sum of N1 billion and another N1 billion as exemplary/aggravated damages for libel.

In addition, the governor is also asking for an order compelling the defendant to retract the publication and tender an apology, “which retraction and apology shall be published in the same manner and given the same prominence as the publication of the libel”, as well as in three national daily newspapers with wide circulation in Nigeria.

He is also demanding the sum of N7.5 million as cost of the action.

The plaintiff in his statement of claim, averred that the words used in the story were intended to refer to “and indeed referred to and were understood to refer to him”.

He added that a substantial number of readers of the publication who read the offensive publication remembered the content, while a number of his friends, associates and family members told him that they were shocked and scandalized by the contents of the publication.

The governor further stated that the defendant knew or ought to have known that the publication was baseless and false and that it was recklessly and maliciously made as a deliberate and calculated act to disparage him as the defendant, contrary to acceptable standards in the practice of journalism, did not make any attempt to either ascertain the truth of the story contained in the publication “nor did it seek to obtain the plaintiff’s side of the story before rushing to publish same”.

The statement further read: “The false, malicious and libelous statements published by the defendant have assassinated the plaintiff’s character and caused him emotional injury and trauma, which injury and trauma still persist at present in view of the non-interaction of the said defamatory statements by the defendant.”

Confirming the action, a close aide of the governor said while he (governor) had the highest regards for the media, he was committed to ensuring that not only should any false publication aimed

at unjustly bringing him to public ridicule go unpunished, but also that the journalism profession was generally practiced within established ethics and standards.

Is the baby looking for his dad or does the mother crying wolf? What is their business? This will serve them well.

Konnektions146:

this news is everywere in enugu and people are sayin its true but cos i dont know, lets watch andd see but a paternity test will be a good one

Oluchi007:

I thought the Vanguard had more integrity than that.

Giving journalists a bad name.

KnowAll:

[size=18pt]I think the Wife's Sister's baby should go for a paternity test( DNA Test) in an independent and neutral Lab. Determining who the 'rightful' or as the case may be the 'wrongful' parent is not rocket science. If the Gov wants N2.5 Billion then he should agree to a no holds bar independent paternity Test.

Any Court ruling that does not tow this line of action or adjudge that ‘a test’ must be determined or carried out as a ‘prima facia’ evidence, is a Court ruling not ready to unravel the truth, dispel the rumour or as the case may be comfirm the slanderous nature of the libel.

Awarding such a huge and gigantic reward to the Governor without exhausting the obvious lines of probity would be a sham Judgment to say the least.

The Governor’s pronunciation (insisting that he is not the father of the child) should not be taken as the Unclad truth, it should be probed and rightfully so,  examined according to basic common scientific tenets, any ruling other than the aforementioned would be a Kangaroo ruling and a joke if not a slap on the integrity of the Judiciary[/size]


Can't you convey your message without using big and bold fonts?

Mobinga:

Can't you convey your message without using big and bold fonts?

dmainboss:

Nairaland peeps self and their ignorance. It is not for Chime to prove anything. It is on the newspaper to prove it had compelling evidence before publishing such a story. It doesnt matter whether it is true or not. If the newspaper did not have enough evidence to publish such a story, they are done. I am speaking from a legal perspective. Forget the sentiments. Chime is not the defendant. He does not need to defend anything. It doesnt matter whether the story is true or not. It is wrong for a public media outfit to start printing things without real evidence. They better have serious evidence or they are fried. We must not enter the sentimental boat and start talking about the story being everywhere. Journalism can be a good tool for improving society but the present Nigerian journalistic landscape is really shiiite! I hope if they are found guilty, it becomes a precedence for people to start suing for libel.

We want corruption and other vices exposed. But we do not want destructive propaganda journalism. Maybe Sahara reporters will be next!

~Bluetooth:

and you think if a journalist approach this guy,he's going to tell him that he truly fu-cked his in-law ? If you have been around Naija politicians,you'd know that  s e x  means nothing to them.I know one idiiot like that even invites girls to his office and catch his fun there.

dmainboss:

Nairaland peeps self and their ignorance. It is not for Chime to prove anything. It is on the newspaper to prove it had compelling evidence before publishing such a story. It doesnt matter whether it is true or not. If the newspaper did not have enough evidence to publish such a story, they are done. I am speaking from a legal perspective. Forget the sentiments. Chime is not the defendant. He does not need to defend anything. It doesnt matter whether the story is true or not. It is wrong for a public media outfit to start printing things without real evidence. They better have serious evidence or they are fried. We must not enter the sentimental boat and start talking about the story being everywhere. Journalism can be a good tool for improving society but the present Nigerian journalistic landscape is really shiiite!  I hope if they are found guilty, it becomes a precedence for people to start suing for libel.

We want corruption and other vices exposed. But we do not want destructive propaganda journalism. Maybe Sahara reporters will be next!

egift:

[size=14pt]The worst is that the said girl is not even pregnant let alone having a baby[/size]

dmainboss:

What are you saying bro. If you cant get evidence, dont print it. simple. If you print it without evidence, it is rumour and defamation. If you really need to print it, then get the evidence, even if you have to spend money to get evidence. Its called investigative journalism. There must be rules in society or we will become babarians!

if evidence is not required to print stories, then we will have a world of free blackmail

dmainboss:

What are you saying bro. If you cant get evidence, dont print it. simple. If you print it without evidence, it is rumour and defamation. If you really need to print it, then get the evidence, even if you have to spend money to get evidence. Its called investigative journalism. There must be rules in society or we will become babarians!

if evidence is not required to print stories, then we will have a world of free blackmail