Court Orders Linda Ikeji To Pay N30 Million In Damages

A Delta State High Court located in Effurun has granted Linda Ikeji N30 million in general damages for her defamatory article she wrote on the Neo Black Movement (NBM) of Africa.

In her decisions on Monday, the sitting judge, Justice Roli Daibo-Harriman, also granted N300,000 as reimbursement for the expenses incurred in the legal battles against the Nigerian blogger.

Additionally, the court also ordered Ikeji to place a publication in her blog and national dailies retracting the defamatory publication.

In addition, Linda Ikeji, who is a defendant in case number EHC/210/2021, was given an injunction to stop publishing any more defamatory statements about the plaintiffs and other NBM of Africa members.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Mayor Onyebueke, Ese Kakor, Felix Kupa, and the Registered Trustees of NBM of Africa.

The NBM of Africa and three other parties brought Ikeji before the court after she ignored the demand letter for a retraction and apology about the defamatory post that was posted on her blog on October 19, 2021.

Related Article: Neo-Black Movement Says It Has Nothing To Do With Black Axe Cult Group

The blogger allegedly called NBM of Africa a criminal organization, a terrible cult group, a black axe, and other derogatory terms in her posting on October 19, 2021. As a result, the claimants asked the court for an award of just N1 billion as well as an unconditional apology that would be printed in her blog, two major newspapers, and other media.

The terms “dreaded cultist group,” “black axe,” “criminal organization,” and other terms used by the defendant in her libelous publication were all explicitly defined by Justice Daibo-Harriman as defamatory in her findings.

Lead plaintiffs’ attorney, Mr. Kelvin Agbroko, told reporters shortly after the court session that the decision was just.

“This will serve as lesson to bloggers that it is not every item you published. It is good to verify information before making a publication.

“NBM of Africa is a legal organisation duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The publication made by the defendant against my client has been cleared that is was a damaging publication.

“NBM is good to go, we are going to take all necessary steps to enforce the terms of the judgement against her. It was an erudite judgement that is all encompassing and will be difficult to fault,” Agbroko said.

The President of NBM of Africa, Mr. Ese Kakor, also responded to the ruling, stating that the case has been pending for around two years.

He claimed that the ruling served as a reminder to the public and bloggers not to disparage or blackmail individuals or organizations by referring to them by names that were not true.

“What Ikeji did was just to sell in a bid to defame the character of NBM of Africa, it is very wrong.

“I advised other blogger not to follow same steps as they may also face similar litigation.

“Do not try and defame peoples character. NBM has nothing to do with cultism, black axe. It is not a criminal organisation but a well registered organisation,” he said.

On the other hand, Kakor counseled the populace to follow the law and act within its bounds.

However, Linda Ikeji did not appear in court and was not represented. She is currently in Greece and she is yet to comment on the matter.