The General
Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, Dr Daniel Olukoya, has filed
a libel suit against the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore,
demanding N10bn in damages.
In the suit
filed before the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo, the MFM founder said he was
constrained to take legal action against Sowore, his online platform, Sahara
Reporters Incorporated and the Incorporated Trustees of Sahara Media Foundation
for their alleged failure to desist from publishing false and malicious
articles against him and his church, MFM, since 2013.
The cleric
said despite complaints, Sowore and his Sahara Reporters remained intransigent
and continued to publish offending stories about him and his church.
Olukoya said
he had earlier demanded that Sahara Reporters pull down all the offending
stories against him and his church within seven days but Omoyele and his
platform refused.
He said
having failed to take advantage of the seven days he gave them, he had no other
option but to sue them.
The
Incorporated Trustees of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries was listed as
the first claimant while Olukoya was the second claimant in the suit marked
HU/250/2018.
Joined as defendants
were Sowore, Incorporated Trustees of Sahara Media Foundation and Sahara
Reporters. Apart from the N10bn damages, the cleric and his church are praying
the court to order the defendants to “pull down and erase each of the offending
stories from the Internet forthwith.”
They also
want the court to compel Sowore and Sahara Reporters to “tender a written
apology and retraction, published prominently in their online news report and
in at least three nationally circulating newspapers and two international
magazines, including TIME International.”
The
claimants are also praying for an order of perpetual injunction, “restraining
the defendants by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or other persons,
howsoever called or described from further publishing and/or disseminating
libellous stories and statements against the claimants.”
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