The presidency has
convinced former head of state General Muhammadu Buhari to settle out of court
the libel suit he had initiated against the special adviser to the president on
media and publicity, Dr Reuben Abati.
Abati had on page 51 of the April 22, 2011, edition of The
Guardian newspaper, written an opinion article entitled “For the attention of
General Buhari”. In it, he claimed that Buhari made an inciting statement which
led to the post-election violence that rocked some parts of the north.
The former presidential candidate of the Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC), however, regarded the publication as defamatory,
intended to lower his integrity and to bring him into public ridicule. Buhari
consequently dragged Abati and The Guardian to court via suit no. ID/837/2011
and demanded N1billion damages from them.
But in a copy of the Terms of Settlement exclusively obtained by
LEADERSHIP SUNDAY and filed before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, the parties
have agreed to settle the matter out of court.
In the terms of settlement dated December 2012 and filed before
the administrative judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke, the claimant
(Buhari), Mr. Tope Adebayo ( lawyer to Buhari), Abati and Mr. Kunle Sanyaolu
(lawyer to The Guardian) signed the terms of settlement. But the lawyer to the
first defendant (Abati), Dame Carol Ajie, declined to sign the document.
The document quoted the claimant and defendants as having
explored the option of amicable settlement of the suit and agreed that, by
virtue of the execution of the terms of settlement, all issues relating to the
suit should be determined.
The parties further agreed that Abati and The Guardian should
retract and apologise to Buhari in certain form and contents.
The terms of settlement reads in part: “The claimant (Buhari)
and defendants (Abati and The Guardian) have agreed that the defendants should
publish a retraction and an apology to the claimant on the Opinion Page of the
newspaper, to be printed in reverse line black (RLB) within seven days of
entering the Consent Terms as the judgment of the court in two editions of The
Guardian.
“The claimant and defendants have agreed and resolved that the
retraction and apology shall take the following form and contents: ‘Re: For the
attention of General Buhari’- On April 22, 2011, The Guardian Newspaper
published an article on Page 51 titled ‘For the attention of General Buhari’
where certain allegations were made against General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd),
GCFR, concerning the 2011 election and General Buhari’s alleged role in the
violence emanating from the elections.
“The publication was based on information which we believed to
be reliable at that time. Since the publication, however, we now have reason to
believe that certain parts of the story were not verified to be correct before
the publication.
“We assure General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), GCFR, of our highest
esteem and regret any distress or embarrassment which the said publication may
have caused him.
“The claimant and defendants agree that on the execution of
these Terms of Settlement, the defendants are discharged from all or any
liabilities or obligations arising from the said publication.”
Abati had stirred the hornet’s nest in the said column when he
wrote that Buhari made an inciting statement after the 2011 presidential poll
thus: “You should never leave polling centres until polls are counted and the
winner declared and you should lynch anybody that tries to tinker with the
votes.”
Source:
Leadership
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