Lagos Speaker, Obasa, Slams Sowore’s Medium, Sahara Reporters, With N1 Billion Libel Suit

By Akinwale Kasali

Omoyele Sowore’s Online Medium, Sahara Reporters, could be in trouble. This follows a-One-Billion Naira libel suit filed against it by the Speaker of the  Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

Obasa, through his lawyer, Lawal Pedro, wrote a pre-litigation letter to Omoyele Sowore, the Publisher of the online news medium, over an alleged defamatory report.

Pedro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, in his April, 30, 2020, letter, claimed that SaharaReporters maligned his client through a publication titled, ‘Exposed: Speaker of Lagos Assembly, Obasa, awards contracts to self through a company registered in son’s name.’

Pedro described as absurd, abusive and malicious the claims that Obasa awarded contracts to himself through companies registered in the names of his father, wife and children.

Pedro contended that none of the firms mentioned by the publication had ever been engaged or awarded any contract by the lawmaker.

He, however, demanded that Sahara Reporters retract the story within seven days, and apologise, or face a N1bn defamation lawsuit.

The letter, titled, ‘Demand for Retraction of Defamatory Statements Published Against and Concerning the Person of Rt. Hon, Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, and Apology for the Publication, reads in part, “Upon our discreet inquiry, we were able to confirm that the House of Assembly has never, at any time, engaged or awarded any contract to any of the listed companies in the publication.

“Therefore, we find the publication utterly absurd, abusive, malicious and amount to irresponsible journalism to deliberately tarnish the image of the Rt. Honourable Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.”

Pedro said although the lawmaker had already denied the report on social media platforms, but the online medium repeated the claims elsewhere, thus, maligning the image of the Speaker.