LIBEL: Abike Dabiri-Erewa wins again

Oru Leonard 

Federal Capital Territory Court sitting at Bwari, Abuja has dismissed Frederick Odorige’s motion seeking to set aside the Court order dated July 10, 2023 consolidating the hearing of Hon. Abike Dabiri’s Preliminary Objection with the substantive suit.

According to the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the Court presided by Hon. Justice M.A. Madugu maintained that it has the requisite vires to consolidate hearing of the Preliminary Objection with the substantive suit in view of its own convenience and consequently dismissed Odorige’s application.

It will be recalled that Frederick Odorige had instituted the suit against Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and NiDCOM on the 21st February, 2023 claiming N300 Million for defamation to his character whereof Abike Dabiri Counter-claimed a sum of N2 billion.

Odorige claimed that Abike Dabiri-Erewa’s tweet of 15th July, 2022 on her registered Twitter handle (now X) @abikedabiri portrayed him as a fraudster , by saying he was only collecting money from his paymasters, describing him as “an hungry man living in Hungary”, where Odoregie resides.

“How can I propose a budget for the Ministry of Health while NiDCOM capital budget is N160 million for the whole year. I will then propose N234 million in another ministry? Asked Dabiri-Erewa in her tweet then.

In her defence in Court, Dabiri-Erewa through her counsel, stated that her tweet was in response to Frederick Odorige’s tweet which implied that she is a thief and criminal misappropriating NiDCOM’s funds.

It is recalled that following Odorige’s said tweet of July 15, 2022, Sahara Reporters published a story titled “Alleged N235 million misappropriation: US-based Nigerian accused Diaspora Commission chairperson, Abike Dabiri Erewa of fraud, corruption.”

The said story elicited mixed reactions where some Nigerians called Abike Dabiri unprintable names.

The Plaintiff, Frederick Odorige has now been instructed by the Court to open and prove his case instead of wasting the Court’s time.

The matter has been adjourned for hearing on 26th November, 2024 for Odorige to call his witnesses.