From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun State High Court, Abeokuta, has ordered the Gbegande of Ososa in Odogbolu Local Government, Oba Adetoye Mojeed Alatishe, to pay N500million to an industrialist, Chief Sulaiman Adegunwa, as a penalty for a libel suit he instituted against the monarch.
The court equally fined the defendant N500,000 in litigation cost. Delivering judgement, Justice E. O. Osinuga, further ordered the monarch to publish a retraction of the libelous publication and apology in some papers.
She also restrained the defendant perpetually from further perpetrating or carrying out any disparaging/libelous publication against the Claimant.
Adegunwa had instituted a suit of libel at the High Court of Justice, Ijebu Ode Judicial Division against the monarch in November, 2019.
In the Statement of Claim in the Writ of Summon dated 25th of November, 2019, Adegunwa had claimed that the defendant in a petition to the
Ogun State Governor, State Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning, State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Special Adviser for Urban and Physical Planning, Commissioner of Police Ogun State, as well as the Chairman of Odogbolu Local Government; dated 7th January, 2019 claimed that “Alhaji Sulaimon Adebola Adegunwa threatened and vowed at a gathering to demolish the entire resuscitated and reconstructed Oba Gbegande Market (by turning same to a palace while the present palace will be forcefully turned to a
town hall) through the office of the Special Adviser on Urban and Physical Planning headed by Mr. Adewolu whom Alhaji Adegunwa was said to have referred to as his ‘son’”.
He added that the defendant petitioned further stated that “this threat if not urgently checked and nipped in the bud is capable of leading to a monumental breach of the peace, serious confrontation and total breakdown of law and order.”
Justice Osinuga, who held that the petition by defendant satisfied the six legal ingredients of libel, however, ordered Oba Alatishe to pay a sum of N500million as damage to the claimant.