August 16, (THEWILL) – A legal practitioner, Maxwell Opara (SAN), has filed an alleged defamatory suit, seeking N10 billion in damages against Twitter and the Department of State Services (DSS).
Opara in the writ of summons marked: FCT/HC/CV/7186/23 and filed at the FCT High Court by Malachy Nwaekpe, listed Twitter Nigeria Limited and Director-General (DG) of State Security Service (also known as DSS), as 1st and 2nd defendants.
The State Security Service and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, are listed as 3rd and 4th defendants respectively, in the suit dated August 11 and filed August 14.
The lawyer filed the suit against the allegation that the Twitter, now known as X, “negligently allowed the defamatory, ethnic profiling and racist comments against” him by the DSS under the leadership of its director-general on the security agency’s platform on July 18 for more than 96 hours.
Opara, who alleged that the post was caused to be published and made viral to millions of readers, described the message as “false, defamatory, demeaning, disparaging and harmful.”
He, therefore, sought eight reliefs which include “an order of this honourable court directing the 2nd and 3rd defendants (DG and DSS), jointly and severally, to issue a letter of apology on the 1st defendant’s platform twitter and a daily newspaper widely read across the federation of Nigeria.
“An order of court directing the defendants to, jointly and severally, pay to the claimant the sum N10 billion as general damages for the various defamatory, demeaning, disparaging and harmful words of the 3rd defendant under the leadership of the 2nd defendant which words were published and caused to be made viral by the 1st defendant in its twitter platform.
“An award of 10 percent post judgement interest per annum on the entire judgement sum from the date of judgement till same is fully liquidated.”
The matter was yet to be assigned to a judgement at the time of the report.
THEWILL reports that the DSS had on Tuesday, July 18, while reacting to a committal to prison proceedings filed at a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by a consortium of lawyers, led by Maxwell Opara (SAN), described Opara as a Charge and bail, overzealous uninformed IPOB/ESN lawyer.
The lawyers had asked the court to commit the Director General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, to prison, over alleged violation of multiple judgements and orders of court directing the release of Godwin Emefiele from custody.
The tweet read: “Charge and bail, overzealous uninformed IPOB/ESN lawyer Maxwell Okpara mobilises other like minded lawyers against DGSS. Futile Efforts. Well, Nigerians, beware! This is in bad faith. Transferred aggression.
“A Biafran Republic agitator and Outlawed IPOB counsel defending the suspended CBN Governor. Is IPOB defending one of theirs????
“What a contradiction….hmmm..what’s the connection? Is someone telling us something? May Maxwell be properly educated on points of law, please.”
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