Looters list: Court grants Secondus permission to summon Lai Mohammed

A Rivers State High Court has granted the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, leave to issue a writ of summons to Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, and the Federal Government.

This was revealed via a statement issued by Ike Abonyi, special adviser on media to the National Chairman, PDP.

The River State Chief, A. I . Iyayi- Lamikanra, who also granted that the defendants be served by substituted means all the originating processes together with accompanying processes in Thisday newspaper.

The case was adjourned to Monday April 23, 2018.

“Rivers state High court has granted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus leave to issue a writ of summons to Lai Mohammad and the Federal Government.”

The PDP National Chairman had filed a suit against Mr Mohammed for alleged defamation of character following the release of alleged looters list which contained Mr Secondus’ name.

The Minister’s list claimed the chairman had collected N200 million from the former National Security Adviser.

Mr Secondus, through his lawyer Emeka Etiaba, wrote to the Minister demanding the immediate retraction of his name from the list, payment of N1.5 billion damages and public apology within 48 hours.

The letter told Mr Mohammed that failure to meet this demand within 48 hours will force him (Secondus) to take the issue to court.

“We shall within 72 hours from today, proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to ventilate our clients right under the law and shall further seek the protection of the court against you,” he said.

Having failed to meet the demand, Mr Secondus on Friday April 6 filed a suit at the Port Harcourt High Court, Rivers state, claiming among other things that the court awards to him the sum of N1.5 billion being damages for “humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication”.

Joined in that suit also is the Federal Government through the Attorney General of the Federation and the Vintage Press Ltd, Publishers of the Nation Newspapers.