The High Court of Lagos State, sitting in the Yaba/Surulere Judicial Division, has awarded N100 million in general damages against The Peoples Gazette Limited over a defamatory online publication alleging that a serving Lagos High Court judge owned a multi-million-dollar apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
The judgment was delivered by Justice E. O. Ashade in suit LD/ADR/3649/2021 between Justice Adedayo A. Akintoye (retd.) as claimant and The Peoples Gazette Limited as defendant.
The claimant, a former judge of the Lagos State High Court, approached the court seeking damages and injunctive reliefs over a publication dated February 22, 2021, on the defendant’s online platform, which alleged that she acquired a luxury flat in the Burj Khalifa, Dubai, while serving as a public officer.
She contended that the report portrayed her as corrupt, dishonest, and living above her legitimate income, thereby damaging her reputation both personally and professionally.
The claimant was represented by Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), alongside Oluwatola Akinduro and Ololade Onabamiro, while the defendant was represented by Temitope Clement Alabi.
In her suit, the claimant sought declarations that the publication was defamatory; an order for retraction and apology; removal of the article from the defendant’s website; a perpetual injunction restraining further publication; and monetary damages totalling N200 million, as well as costs.
During the trial, the claimant testified as CW1 and called two witnesses, CW2 and CW3, who corroborated her claim that the publication was false and injurious to her reputation.
The defendant called one witness, DW1, who sought to justify the publication on the grounds of public interest, qualified privilege, and fair comment.
However, the court rejected key aspects of the defence, holding that significant portions of the defendant’s evidence amounted to hearsay and that some electronically generated evidence failed to comply with Section 84 of the Evidence Act.
The court found that the defendant failed to verify the authenticity of the allegations before publication and relied on unverified sources.
Justice Ashade held that the publication, in its natural and ordinary meaning, portrayed the claimant as corrupt and unlawfully enriched, and was therefore defamatory.
The court further held that although freedom of expression is guaranteed under Section 39 of the Constitution, it is not absolute and must be balanced against the constitutional right to reputation.
It rejected the defences of justification, qualified privilege, and fair comment, holding that they failed in the absence of proof of truth and in light of the reckless nature of the publication.
The court also held that awarding both aggravated and general damages would amount to double compensation and accordingly refused the claim for aggravated damages.
Judgment was entered in favour of the claimant, with the court awarding N100 million as general damages and N25 million as cost of action.
The court also ordered the defendant to publish an apology, retract the defamatory publication, remove it from its website, and refrain from further publishing similar defamatory content against the claimant.
