COURT ORDERS ONYEKA ONWENU TO PUBLICLY APOLOGISE TO TONY OKOROJI AND TO PAY HIM FIVE MILLION NAIRA FOR DEFAMATION

A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja this Thursday, June 30, 2016 ordered frontline singer and politician, Ms. Onyeka Onwenu to pay the sum of Five Million Naira as damages for defamation of character to Chief Tony Okoroji, former President of PMAN and Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).

Delivering judgment in Suit No: ID/935/12 filed in 2012, Hon Justice I. O. Akinkugbe (Mrs.) also ordered Ms. Onwenu to tender an unreserved public apology to Chief Okoroji to be published in Vanguard Newspapers and www.vanguardngr.com, the website of Vanguard Newspapers.

Reacting to the judgment, a jubilant Chief Tony Okoroji who was in court said, ”Once again, as has happened several times before, the courts have come to my rescue proving that despite what may be said to the contrary, you can obtain justice in Nigeria. This has taken close to four years of going in and out of court but at the end of the day, I must thank Honourable Justice Akinkugbe who the Almighty has again used to do justice for her professionalism. I must also thank my lawyer, Mr. Justin Ige for his commitment and thoroughness.

COSON condoles the family, friends and fans of this music maker.

We are heartbroken at COSON as we mourn the passing on this morning of our frontline member, the immensely talented singer and producer, OJB Jezreel who worked with 2Face to craft the monster hit, African Queen. COSON condoles the family, friends and fans of this music maker.

 

Buhari cancels Niger-Delta visit, sends Osinbajo

President Muhammadu Buhari has cancelled at the last minute a visit planned for Thursday to the oil-producing Niger Delta, which has been hit by a wave of militant attacks, a government source said.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will instead visit the restive southern region to launch a cleanup program of the Ogoniland, an area badly hit by oil spills, the source said, without giving a reason for Buhari’s cancellation.

Buhari had already skipped a visit to the commercial capital Lagos in the south last month at the last minute. Posters with his picture had been already hung up to welcome the president before his spokesman cited “scheduling” difficulties.

It would have been the first visit of the former military ruler to the Delta since taking office in May last year. Critics have accused Buhari, a Muslim from the north, of ignoring the predominately Christian south.

Hours after the announcement of Buhari’s visit to the swamps on Tuesday the Niger Delta Avengers militant group, which has claimed several attacks on Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell facilities, issued a warning to oil firms that their “facilities and personnel will bear the brunt of our fury”.

The southern Delta swamps have been hit by a series of militant attacks on oil and gas pipelines which have brought Nigeria’s oil output to a 20-year low. The Avengers have accused Buhari of ignoring local problems, reports Reuters.

Local officials and Western allies such as Britain have told Buhari that moving army reinforcements to the Delta region would not be enough to stop the attacks and that the population’s grievances should be dealt with

Buhari said on Sunday the government would hold talks with leaders in Nigeria’s main oil-producing region to address their grievances, in a bid to stop a surge in pipeline attacks. Residents in the swamp areas have for years complained about oil industry pollution and about economic marginalization by the government.