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DSS suit against SERAP adjourns indefinitely
The two operatives, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele had sued SERAP for N5 billion for alleged defamation following SERAP’s accusation that the DSS invaded its Abuja office in 2024.
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High court today adjourned for judgment indefinitely in respect of the defamation suit instituted against Socio-economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) by two operatives of the Department of State Services(DSS).
Justice Yusuf Halilu adjourned for judgment after the adoption of addresses by counsel to the claimants and defendants.
The two operatives, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele had sued SERAP for N5 billion for alleged defamation following SERAP’s accusation that the DSS invaded its Abuja office in 2024.
At the adoption of written addresses today, counsel to SERAP, Victoria Bassey, from Tayo Oyetibo, SAN Chambers, urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
Ms Bassey, asserted that the suit was misconceived because the claimants did not establish that the words complained of were published of and concerned them personally.
In the written address, the defendant’s counsel posited:
”The law is firmly settled that in an action for defamation, the burden lies squarely on the claimant to prove, as a threshold and indispensable requirement that the words complained of were published of were published of and concerning him personally.
This requirement is not cosmetic as it goes to the very root of the cause of action and failure to establish it is fatal.It is common ground that none of the publications complained of mentioned the claimants by name, rank, photograph or office.
The referred generically to ‘officers from Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS)’ and complained of the conduct of the DSS as an institution”.
According to the counsel, the claimants have not established that the complaints of SERAP referred to them, adding that “there is no evidence whatsoever that a right-thinking individual reasonably understood the words complained of to refer to either claimants personally”.
In his adoption of address, counsel to the claimants, Oluwagbemileke Kehinde, urged the court to grant all the reliefs of the claimants, and discountenance the defendants’ defence, describing them as incompetent.
News
Sanusi: Critics Are Not Enemies Of The Govt
” It’s not every time people talk about poverty or talk about difficulty that they’re just enemies of the government or making an attack on the president. That is not how to respond to economic distress,” he said.
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has advised the Federal Government against treating every comment about the administration as an attack on President Bola Tinubu.
The royal father gave the advise on the occasion of the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, organised by the Oxford Global Think Tan.
Speaking virtually to the audience at the event, on Tuesday, Sanusi advised the government to tolerate constructive criticism.
“It’s not every time people talk about poverty or talk about difficulty that they’re just enemies of the government or making an attack on the president. That is not how to respond to economic distress,” he said.
News
Urbanisation: Lagos To Fall Behind Luanda as sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest city by 2050
The report titled ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urban Awakening: Catalyzing Economic Growth and Job Creation’, also calculated that sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population will increase by 748 million between 2025 and 2050, reaching about 1.7 billion.
A report conducted by the World Bank and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, has projected that Angola’s capital, Luanda,will overtake Lagos as sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous city by 2050, rising by 78 percent from 11.4 million to 20.3 million.
The report titled ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urban Awakening: Catalyzing Economic Growth and Job Creation’, also calculated that sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population will increase by 748 million between 2025 and 2050, reaching about 1.7 billion.
The report estimated that Luanda’s population would increase from 11.4 million in 2025 to 20.3 million in 2050, adding 8.9 million residents over the period.
Lagos, the region’s most populous city in 2025 with an estimated 12.8 million residents, is projected to grow to 16.2 million by 2050, an increase of more than 25 percent.
Despite the growth, Lagos is expected to fall behind Luanda, whose population is projected to exceed that of Nigeria’s commercial hub by 4.1 million.
“Over this period, the population of Angola’s capital city, Luanda, is projected to increase by 78 percent from 11.4 million to 20.3 million.
In doing so, Luanda will overtake Lagos as SSA’s most populous city,” the report said.
News
President Tinubu Performing Umrah
The President is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.
Photo: President Tinubu I Makkah
President Bola Tinubu on Friday commenced performing Umrah at Makkah in Saudi Arabia, praying for the nation and for every Nigerian to live in peace and harmony.
Tinubu on Thursday evening arrived in Saudi Arabia, landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
He was received by Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the Saudi head of royal protocol Ahmad bin Thafir.
Thursday’s trip marks the second time Tinubu has travelled to Makkah to perform Umrah since assuming office on May 29, 2023.
President Tinubu visited the holy city in November 2023, shortly after attending the Saudi-African Summit in Riyadh, where he also prayed for divine guidance in leading Nigeria.
The latest trip is part of a series of foreign engagements undertaken by Tinubu since becoming president. He has visited more than 30 countries in over 50 unique and recurring trips.
The President is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.
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