The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, was at the High Court Abuja, registry on Tuesday to sign and file his deposition in support of the N2.5bn libel suit which he instituted against Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari’s on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie.
The suit was filed in June this year.
Pictures of the former Vice president with his lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and other members of his legal team were circulated to journalists on Tuesday.
One of the pictures showed Atiku seated, holding a pen above a white paper with Ozekhome bent over the table beside him.
The caption accompanying the pictures, read: “Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, today, at the Central Registry of the FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with his client, His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa.
“The former Vice President was physically at the Registry to sign his witness deposition (on oath) before the Commissioner for Oaths, on the case he instituted against Lauretta Onochie.
“The Waziri is claiming amongst others, the sum of N2.5 bn only, from the Presidential Assistant on Social Media, as general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages against her.
READ ALSO: Atiku Threatens to Sue Buhari’s Aide, Demands N500m Damages
“Atiku is claiming this sum from her for her defamatory story published on her twitter handle and Facebook page, in which she stated that Atiku was on the UAE watch list, as a wanted man, asking, ‘shopping for terrorists?’”
Recall that Atiku had, on June 26, 2019, filed a suit against Onochie for alleged libelous tweet against him on her twitter handle on May 7, 2019.
The tweet had alleged that Atiku was on the watch list of security operatives in the United Arab Emirates and had travelled to shop for terrorists in the Middle East.
In the suit marked CV/2287/19, Atiku prayed the court to order Onochie to pay him the N2.5bn as “general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages over the untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the defendant’s publications have caused the claimant.”
Atiku, had before filing the suit, written to Onochie through his lawyer, Ozekhome, demanding an apology, a retraction of the said post and a payment of N500m compensation to him “to assuage” the damage allegedly done to him by her social media post.
He also threatened to sue her should she fail to accede to the demand “within 48 hours”.
In his statement of claim accompanying his suit, Atiku said that rather than show “remorse by retracting her earlier publication”, Onochie further, on May 20, made “another derogatory publication and also published same online in the social and other print media” against his person.”
Denying the allegations in the tweets, Atiku said they were “politically orchestrated” “solely to cause maximum damage” to his “high reputation.”
