A High Court of Cross River State sitting in Calabar has fined a former State Auditor General,John Odey, N5m for defaming the character of the former Coordinator of the State and Local Governance Reforms (SLOGOR) Project, Joseph Imbufe.
The judgment was delivered on Thursday by the presiding judge of High Court 2, Moore Road, Calabar, Justice Bassey Ebuta.
Justice Ebuta held that the statements made by Odey during a recorded interview on YouTube with journalist Beatrice Akpala were defamatory and damaging to the reputation of Imbufe.
The court consequently awarded N5m as aggravated damages against the former Auditor General.
In his ruling, the judge described Odey as a “meddlesome interloper,” noting that he had already retired from public service and was not present at the meeting where office furniture belonging to the SLOGOR project was distributed among ministries, departments and agencies in the state before making the remarks.
The judge further held that the comments made in the interview constituted libel against Imbufe.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Imbufe, Nandie-Esom, welcomed the ruling, stating that the court’s decision had vindicated his client.
He commended the court for upholding justice and protecting the reputation of his client.
Findings revealed that Imbufe approached the court after Odey allegedly failed to retract the statements made in the viral interview or issue an unreserved apology.
Efforts to reach the former Auditor General for comments were unsuccessful as his phone line was not reachable as of the time of filing this report.
