UPDATED: Bode George Loses Libel Cases Against The NEWS, P.M.NEWS and Daily Independent

Convicted PDP chieftain and former Board Chairman of Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, Chief Bode George, today lost the libel case he instituted against TheNEWS magazine, P.M.NEWS and the Daily Independent newspaper. The judgment was delivered  today, by Justice Akeem Oshodi of the Lagos High Court, sitting in  Badagry, Lagos State.
In his  judgment, Justice Akeem Oshodi, held that a man cannot claim damages for a reputation that he does not possess.
Going through the facts of the matter, the judge noted that all the witnesses called by Bode George did not sufficiently prove to the court that he was libeled by the media reports which were tendered in court.
Justice Oshodi noted that since Bode George had earlier been convicted by a Lagos High Court judge on same facts which he claimed injured his reputation, it would be inappropriate to grant him damages on those facts.
According to the judge, "the court notes through the submission of the defendant that claimant had been convicted to two years without an option of fine on the same facts which he alleged libel. A man cannot lay claim to a reputation that he never had. And as such this case fails in its entirety."

Consequently, the judge struck out the case, but awarded no costs.  The defendants were represented by Mr. Femi Falana of Falana and Falana Chambers.
 
Counsel to Bode George, Bambo Adesanya, SAN, had argued in his final submission that the judgment in question convicting his client was of no relevance to the libel as it was not in existence as at the time the case was instituted, Justice Oshodi disregarded his argument.
Oshodi  stated that Bode George was only trying to deceive the court by claiming that he was not under any probe by the EFCC or any panel of inquiry.

Bode George had claimed N2 billion in the libel suits he instituted against TheNEWS magazine, P.M.NEWS and Daily Independent newspaper.
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 Bode George  went to court  after  TheNEWS, in its 18 April 2005 edition, published a cover story, titled "Anti Corruption War: N85 billion Scam At The Ports. Bode George’s Board Indicted." The magazine reported the anger of  former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who claimed to make anti-corruption war the cornerstone of his government,  over the report of a committee on NPA contracts, submitted by former Minister of Transport, Abiye Sekibo.
While the report indicted the board and the NPA management, it failed to zero in on who did what, when and how. Obasanjo, according to TheNEWS story, therefore set up another review panel  headed by Engineer Mustapha Bukar from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation. Other members were Mr. Greg Ogbeifun of Starz Investment Company; Mr. A.A. Lawal of Tata Industries Kano; Chief John Amadi Damshakai of the office of the Plateau State Governor, Barrister (Mrs.) Nella Andem Ewa, a Calabar-based lawyer; Mrs. B.F. Oyelowo of the Auditor-General of the Federation’s office, Abuja and Mrs. G.O. Ezezika of the Ministry of Transport, Abuja.
Obasanjo mandated the committee to review all contracts awarded at NPA between 2001 and 2003 and determine "exactly how much was expended, with dates, exactly how much was paid out on each contract, the outstanding amounts and works not executed but for which monies were paid". Bukar and his men were also asked to find out whether the board followed correct procedures in the award of the projects.

When the committee submitted its report, it unearthed the fact that George’s board awarded 29,586 contracts, valued at N85 billion. The committee also reported contract splitting and inflation of costs.  It was also found out by the Bukar committee that contracts were awarded to companies which, on the surface, belonged to many people but actually belonged to one person or a  few persons.

Later, the former president asked another panel, that included representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to conduct yet another probe. The findings also corroborated what the other panels had uncovered.

  As the libel cases went on before Justice Oshodi at the Lagos High Court, the EFCC, in the pursuance of its mandate to curtail graft in the country, formally charged Chief Bode George and other principal officials of the Nigeria Port Authority. The trial before Justice
 Olubunmi Oyewole led to the conviction of Bode George and his sentence  to two years imprisonment.

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