Respondents make demand on Bode George’s libel suit

By Abdulwahab   Abdulah

LAGOS—Following the verdict of an Ikeja High Court convicting the former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George and five others, respondents in the libel suit he slammed against some media outfits have asked the court to allow them to amend their statement of defence.

Specifically, they were asking the court to grant them leave to tender last week’s judgment delivered by Justice Joseph Oyewole, stating that the substance and outcome of the judgment will have relevance to their case.

George has dragged The Independent Newspaper, publishers of the Daily Independent and others; Independent Network Communications Limited, publishers of The News and Corporate Vendors Limited to court asking for N1.5 billion and N1bn from them as compensation over the publication of the Mr. Nuhu Ribadu-led investigating panel report that indicted him and other board members over the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) N86bn scam.

At the resumed hearing of the case yesterday, before Justice Hakeem Oshodi, Mr Femi Falana, representing the defendants, informed the court on their plan to adopt their earlier written addresses, while praying for an order “permitting the defendants to further amend their statement of defence.