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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, has told a court he did not give the January 12, 2025 interview in The Nation on which Senator Chris Anyanwu’s N550 million defamation suit against him is based.
He made the claim in his amended Statement of Defence in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1058/2025, pending before the FCT High Court in Jabi, Abuja.
When the matter returned on Monday, September 28, 2026, the court was expected to hear the cross-examination of Dr Joyce Ejukonemu, a witness for the claimant. That did not happen.
Anyanwu’s lawyer, Adekunle Kosoko, said he had filed a motion to regularise her Reply to Ohakim’s amended defence. Ohakim’s lawyer, K.C.O. Njemanze, SAN, responded that the defence would need to study the document first.
Justice adjourned the case to November 4, 2026. Dr Ejukonemu and the other claimant’s witnesses were in court, but their evidence was put off because of the application.
In paragraphs 7 and 9 of his amended defence, Ohakim denied that he wrote, spoke, published or caused the publication of the words Anyanwu complains about.
He also says the interview was never granted by him and accuses Anyanwu of fabricating a press statement to found the suit.
He further argues that the words were not defamatory, that the suit is incompetent, and that the court has no jurisdiction to hear it.
He disputed a number of Anyanwu’s claims about her political and professional career, saying they would be contested at trial.
The action stems from remarks attributed to Ohakim in the interview about Anyanwu and her memoir, Bold Leap.
In her amended reply, she rejected Ohakim’s defence, insisting the statements were defamatory and published maliciously.
She took issue in particular with claims that she once wrote an apology to the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, and that she leaned on military connections in her political career.
Her pleading says Ohakim asserted that such a letter existed and promised to make it public, but never did.
She alleges the remarks were meant to harm her reputation and gain political advantage, and claims that the court must still decide.
She also says Vintage Press Limited, which publishes The Nation, has apologised to her privately and publicly over the publication.
Regarding the memoir, she says it recounts her life and experiences and denies that it defamed Ohakim.
