A Cross River State Excessive Courtroom sitting in Calabar has declined a request by the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company (NDLEA) to strike out a N500 million defamation swimsuit filed in opposition to it by a gross sales consultant of Drugfield Pharmaceutical, Prince Fajulugbe Adeshola Temitayo.
In a ruling delivered yesterday, Justice Bassey Ebuta held that the preliminary objection raised by the NDLEA can be decided alongside the substantive case when the matter comes up for full listening to.
“The choice can be taken on the conclusion of the listening to of the case. If the objection succeeds, it’s going to get rid of the matter. The case shall due to this fact proceed to listening to,” Justice Ebuta said.
Counsel to the NDLEA, C. F. Iyoyo, had urged the court docket to dismiss the swimsuit on the bottom that it was statute-barred, arguing that the alleged defamatory act occurred on October 1, 2023, past the three-month limitation interval prescribed below the Public Officers Safety (POP) Act for actions in opposition to public officers.
Iyoyo additional contended that the company acted throughout the scope of its statutory duties and that its publication couldn’t be thought of malicious, fraudulent, or past its powers.
In opposition, counsel to the claimant, E. E. Osim, maintained that the safety afforded by the POP Act doesn’t prolong to public officers who act in breach of the 1999 Structure or past their lawful authority.
“The POP Act can’t defend public officers who abuse their powers or infringe upon the rights of residents. Such actions fall exterior the scope of official duties,” Osim argued, urging the court docket to dismiss the objection in its entirety.
Following the ruling, Justice Ebuta adjourned the matter to November 4, 2025, for the graduation of the listening to.
Within the substantive swimsuit, marked HC/305/2024, the claimant is in search of N500 million typically and exemplary damages in opposition to the NDLEA for allegedly defaming him by a publication that described him as a “drug peddler.”
Fajulugbe, who holds three grasp’s levels, alleged that the NDLEA’s publication of October 1, 2023, falsely linked his identify and {photograph} to illicit drug trafficking below the headline: “Wished Kingpin, Chadian, Grandpa Arrested Over London-Certain Cargo, 4 Tons of Drug.”
He maintained that the publication, broadly circulated throughout a number of media platforms, prompted extreme injury to his repute, skilled standing, and private dignity.
