interlocutory application filed by the National Leader of All
Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu against Africa
Independent Television, AIT, over a libel case.
Justice Iyabo Akinkugbe, who sat over the case, fixed the date after
she took over three-hour arguments from counsel representing Tinubu
and the AIT, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN and Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN
respectively.
National Leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu
Tinubu had dragged the television station, owned by Chief Raymond
Dokpesi, before the court alleging that a documentary broadcast by the
station, titled 'Lion of Bourdillion,' was libelous and aimed at
tarnishing his image.
In his ex-parte motion, Tinubu prayed for an order of interim
injunction restraining AIT, whether by itself, agents, privies and or
other persons from producing or continuing to broadcast, airing, or
continuing to reproduce the said documentary.
The motion also sought to restrain the TV station from continuing the
broadcast of the documentary, which it started airing on March 1 and
had been repeating daily, pending the hearing and determination of the
motion on notice dated March 5, 2015.
According to Tinubu in his motion, the damages would not adequately
compensate him if the ex-parte order was not granted and prayed that
the rest of the suit may be extinguished if the ex-parte order was not
granted.
He further averred that there was "real, imminent and urgent threat
and danger" of continuing to decimate his person and integrity by AIT
by continuing to air the "offensive" broadcast if the ex-parte motion
was not granted.
Moving the application, Olanipekun argued that by granting the motion,
the television station stands to lose nothing by temporary stopping
the broadcast of the contentious documentary, pending the
determination of the substantive suit.
He further argued that AIT's contention that the said documentary was
a sponsored advertorial was also not an excuse to further continue the
broadcast, which has become a subject of litigation.
He added that AIT cannot continue to make money at the expense of
Tinubu who he claimed had never been convicted by any court of law
either in Nigeria or abroad.
However, responding to the argument, Ozekhome, SAN insisted that
Tinubu's application will not in anyway be prejudiced if the court
chooses not to make an order stopping the broadcast.
Moreover, he stated that AIT had since stopped the broadcast of the
documentary immediately after Tinubu instituted the suit, while
contending that the issues contained in the documentary was already
public knowledge as several website had already published similar
facts.
Moreover, he noted that since Tinubu had already demanded for
N150billion as compensation which is the worth of his purported
damaged integrity, it would not be wise to grant his prayer for
interlocutory injunction restraining AIT from further broadcasting the
documentary.
--Vanguard
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