A former Director, Extension Services (External Relations) of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr Hilary Ogbechie has sued the Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture, Olusegun Runsewe, before an Abuja High Court, seeking N50million as general damages for alleged defamation of character.
In a statement of claim disposed recently by Season Law firm, Abuja, counsel to the claimant (Ogbechie), it averred that Runsewe (Defendant), on January 5, 2020, issued press releases/interviews which was published to a global audience by Sahara Reporters, ‘’that the audit report from the office of the Auditor – General of the Federation, was not during his administration.
Runsewe said the report took into account the financials of the council between 2015 and 2016.
Hilary Ogbechie was the director of the council during that time.
The 2017 audit report recently released by the Office of the Auditor – General of the Federation has indicted the NCAC and its Director-General of financial irregularities in contract awards and payments.”
It would be recalled that the media, including the Premium Times of December 31, 2019, reported that the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture had been indicted for the following reasons, amongst others –
Failure to explain the purchase of a car of N5.6m without approval or due process on May 3, 2017; Irregularities in contract awards and payments at the agency; Payment of N44.3m directly to a contractor for the construction of National Research Center in Kaduna without a payment voucher and in full before the contractor did any work; Lack of approval by the Tenders Board since the said payment was above the approval limit of the Director-General; Lack of accountability of the sums of N1m and N1.8m paid as consultancy fees.
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Ogbechie in the claim averred that Runsewe’s claim was false knowing that he has never been the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, falsely and maliciously claimed that he was in charge of the National Council for Arts and Culture at the time of the alleged financial impropriety.
He added the “the Defendant, knowing that the Claimant had retired from public service since March 2016, falsely and maliciously claimed that the Claimant was in charge of the National Council for Arts and Culture at the time of the alleged financial impropriety which the said report attributed to events in 2017.
The Defendant, knowing that the Claimant never occupied any office involved in the award of contracts at the National Council for Arts and Culture, falsely and maliciously claimed that the Claimant was in charge of the National Council for Arts and Culture at the time of the alleged financial impropriety.
The false statement made by the Defendant impressed on the minds of members of Nigerian and international communities that the Claimant was involved in financial scams, defrauded the public treasury and has been indicted by an audit report of the Auditor – General of the Federation of Nigeria.”
Ogbechie further averred that the false statement made by Runsewe impressed on the minds of members of Nigerian and international communities that he was unfit to be an administrator of funds and has a proclivity for kleptomania.
He added “The false allegation made by the Defendant ruined the reputation of the Claimant amongst his social peers, business partners and international associates – a reputation which was nurtured over several decades.”
The claimant added that on January 7, 2020, the Claimant wrote to the Defendant and implored him to retract the false statement, pleaded for mitigation of the damage and cited the trauma, loss of reputation and financial gain occasioned by the publication made by the Defendant.
The Defendant has declined to retract the false statement till date, further sustaining the damage being done to the reputation of the Claimant without any remorse.
Ogbechie is, therefore, seeking an Order of this Honorable Court compelling the Defendant to publish an apology to the Claimant in the full page of The Guardian Newspaper and This Day Newspaper to retract his statement that the Claimant was in charge of the National Council for Arts and Culture during the period covered by the audit report of the Auditor – General of the Federation which report alleged the occurrence of financial improprieties by the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture.
An Order of the Court compelling the Defendant to pay general damages of N50,000,000 for damage done to the reputation of the Claimant by the false statement of the Defendant.
An Order of the Court compelling the Defendant to pay special damages of N2,000,000 to the Claimant being the costs of this suit, among others.
