injunction barring former President Olusegun Obasanjo from publishing
his autobiography, 'My Watch'.
Justice Valentine Ashi ordered on the release of the books which had
been in the custody of the Nigerian Customs Service.
The books were intercepted by the Nigerian Customs on the strength of
the court injunction which was granted on December 10, 2014.
But Justice Valentine Ash set aside the order of injunction on Monday
upon an application by Obasanjo, through his lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi
(SAN).
The court asked the customs not to collect demurrage on the books for
the period they had overspent in their custody.
The court upheld Agabi's argument that the applicant, a Peoples
Democratic Party chief in Ogun State, Buruji Kashamu, who is currently
pursuing a N20bn libel suit against Obasanjo in the same court,
suppressed vital facts to obtain the order.
No journalist was in court when the judge lifted the injunction on
Monday as the ruling was not delivered earlier on March 30, the date
originally fixed for it.
New date for the ruling was said to have been later communicated to the parties.
Kashamu, had on December 10, 2014, obtained the injunction from the
court through an ex parte application which he filed in his N20bn
libel suit against Obasanjo.
Kashamu had anchored his prayer on the argument that part of the book
related to the subject matter of the libel suit - a letter dated
December 2, 2013 written by Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Kashamu had instituted the libel suit against Obasanjo having been
dissatisfied with his being described by the former President in the
letter which was widely published in the electronic and print media as
a fugitive wanted for drug offences in the United States of America.
On December 8, 2014, Justice Ashi granted an ex parte application
restraining Obasanjo from publishing the book pending the
determination of the libel suit.
But Obasanjo went ahead to present the book to the public in Lagos, an
act which the court held on December 10, 2014, as contemptuous.
Following the development the court ordered security and law
enforcement agencies including customs to confiscate the book
anywhere it was found.
The judge in his ruling on Obasanjo's application on Monday upheld
Agabi's argument that the order of injunction was wrongly made.
Agabi had maintained that the court made the order without jurisdiction.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said, "The single ground of this
application is that, in a case of libel, an interlocutory injunction
does not lie to restrain publication in the face of a defendant
pleading justification.
"The defendant (Obasanjo) is pleading justification. In paragraph 24
of our counter-affidavit, the defendant said his claim about the
plaintiff is correct, true and justified from records available in the
federal court of the United States."
He said the court had "issued without jurisdiction" adding, "The
moment an interlocutory is granted, the issue is prejudiced, fair
hearing is prejudiced."
He also argued that the court could only validly bar publication in a
libel suit after the case of libel was proven against the defendant.
But Kashamu's counsel, Mr. Alex Izinyon II, urged the court to dismiss
Obasanjo's application seeking to set aside the December 10, 2014
order.
He said the order having been enforced by being served on the police,
Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, the application
had lost relevance.
He told the court that Customs authority had recently requested a
copy of the order when its men intercepted a container-load of the
order.
The judge adjourned further proceedings in the matter till May 25.
--PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment