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Looters List: PDP Chairman Sues Lai Mohammed, Demands N1.5bn Damages

Mr. Uche Secondus, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has dragged the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, to court for defamation of character.

Ike Abonyi, the media aide to the PDP Chairman, revealed this in a statement on Friday.

The information minister had last week included Mr Secondus in the list of those who allegedly looted the nation’s treasury.

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In the list, the minister alleged that the PDP National Chairman collected received N200million from the former National Security Adviser (NSA).

But Secondus, had through his lawyer, Mr Emeka Etiaba, denied collecting any money from the former NSA.

He had consequently asked the minister to immediately retract his name on the list and demanded a public apology and payment of N1.5b damages within 48 hours.

“We shall within 72 hours from today (March 31, 2018), proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to ventilate our client’s right under the law and shall further seek the protection of the court against you,” Secondus’ lawyer had told Mohammed in a letter on Saturday last week.

Abonyi said having failed to meet the demand, the PDP National Chairman made good his threat today (Friday) and filed a suit at the Port Harcourt High Court in Rivers State.

The PDP Chairman asked the court to award him the sum of N1.5b as damages for “humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication,” in the suit.

In the same vein, Secondus said the list published by the minister was defamatory and urged the court to direct Mohammed to retract the said publication and apologise in writing.

The PDP Chairman wants the retraction and apology to be published in all social media platforms and other media organisations where it was earlier publicised and broadcasted.

He further asked the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publishing defamatory materials against him.

Seondus joined the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Attorney General of the Federation and a media firm in the suit.