The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Wednesday struck out the name of the Buhari Campaign Organisation from a libel suit the group jointly filed with President Muhammadu Buhari against the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Justice Binta Mohammed, in striking out the name of the group, held in a ruling that the organisation was not known to the law.
The judge agreed with the contention of Atiku’s lawyer, Mr Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), to the effect that the BCO was not a juristic person that could sue or be sued.
Ume had filed an application dated February 11, 2019, urging the court to hold that the second plaintiff, the BCO, was improperly made a plaintiff in the action.
The main suit marked FCT/HC/CV/ 804/2019 was filed by Buhari and the BCO against Atiku and his aide, Phrank Shaibu.
The plaintiffs accused the two defendants of making defamatory statements in some national newspapers to the effect that Buhari used his position as Nigerian President to fraudulently acquire two private companies, Keystone Bank Plc and 9Mobile Communication Limited for himself, family members and friends.
The plaintiffs told the court that the defendants also falsely claimed that the President acquired the said companies, using his influence and the control he had over the heads of parastatals or organisations that were connected with the activities of such companies.
But Atiku, in a counter-claim, which he filed in response to the suit, demanded an apology from Buhari for allegedly filing a “frivolous suit” against him.
In addition, the former Vice-President urged the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja to order Buhari to pay N1bn damages to be sent to internally displaced persons’ camps and a balance of another N1bn for equipment of libraries and information technology equipment for all state universities in Nigeria.
In their statement of defence, they said the alleged libelous statements were mere “dispassionate expressions of opinions based on true facts.”
In their counter-claim, the plaintiffs cited alleged instances of Buhari’s constitutional breaches, failure to secure lives and property.
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