THE National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus, has dragged the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to court for defamation of character.

Mohammed had on Friday, last week, mentioned Secondus in the first list of those he claimed looted the nation’s treasury.

He alleged that the national chairman of the main opposition party collected N200m from the former National Security Adviser, Col  Sambo Dasuki  (retd.). Secondus, who denied the allegation, said he was embarrassed by the minister’s claim.

He claimed through a letter from his lawyer, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN), that he did not collect money and asked the minister to retract his statement. He also asked for the payment of N1.5b as damages and a public apology within 48 hours.

The letter told Mohammed to note that if he failed to meet their demand after 48 hours, ” We shall within 72 hours from today, proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to ventilate our clients right under the law and shall further seek the protection of the court against you.”

Having failed to  meet the demand, Secondus on Friday, made good his threat and filed a suit at the High Court,  Port Harcourt, Rivers State,  claiming among other things that the court awards to him the sum of N1.5b being damages for humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication.

According to a statement from the PDP National Chairman’s Media Office and signed by his Spokesperson, Ike Abonyi, Secondus in the suit with number /PHC/1013/2018, is also claiming that Mohammed’s publication is defamatory.

He is asking the court to direct him to retract the said publication and apologise to him in writing. – Punch

– Apr. 6, 2018 @ 18:36 GMT

AE