A federal capital territory (FCT) high court has fixed June 19, 2025, for hearing in the
defamation suit filed by Chris Anyanwu, former Imo senator, against Ikedi Ohakim, the ex-Governor of Imo state.
Gatekeepers News reports that the suit, filed on March 14, 2025, also has Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation newspaper, as the second defendant.
According to court documents, Anyanwu alleges that Ohakim made defamatory remarks about her in an interview published by The Nation on January 12, 2025.
Describing the statements as “false and injurious,” Anyanwu said she had swiftly issued a press statement to debunk the claims and, through her legal representatives, demanded a public retraction from Ohakim.
She is seeking N550 million in damages and a court order mandating Ohakim to retract the comments and publish a full-page apology in The Sun and The Nation newspapers.
The case was first mentioned on May 6 and set to begin trial on June 17. However, at Tuesday’s session, Anyanwu was represented by Adekunle Kosoko, while U.C. Njemanze-Aku appeared for Ohakim.
Kosoko told the court that he was prepared to proceed and had brought along witnesses, including one who had travelled from Lagos. But the defence sought a brief adjournment.
Kosoko objected, arguing that the defence had received the witness statements over a month earlier and should have been ready. He requested the court to award costs to cover expenses incurred in transporting the witness.
Njemanze-Aku explained that the lead counsel, who was scheduled to handle the cross-examination, was “indisposed.”
Although the witness could deliver their evidence-in-chief, she asked for more time to allow the lead counsel to conduct the cross-examination.
After hearing both sides, Justice M.I. Sani granted the adjournment to June 19 but declined to award costs. The judge also instructed the claimant’s counsel to serve a hearing notice to Vintage Press Limited, which was not present at the proceedings.
