20th March, 2015
Henry Ojelu
Justice Iyabo Akinkugbe of the Ikeja Lagos High court today fixed 1 April for ruling on the interlocutory application filed by the national leader of All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu against Africa Independent Television, AIT.
Tinubu had dragged the television station owned by Chief Raymond Dopkesi before the court alleging that a documentary broadcast by the station, titled ‘Lion of Bourdillion’ was libellous and aimed at tarnishing his image.
Tinubu through ex-parte motion sought an order of interim injunction restraining AIT whether by itself, agents, privies and or other persons from producing or continuing to broadcast, airing, or continuing to reproduce the documentary.
The motion also sought to restrain the TV station from continuing the broadcast of the documentary, which it started airing on March 1st and had been repeating daily, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice dated March 5, 2015.
The motion further noted that damages would not adequately compensate applicant/claimant if the ex-parte order was not granted and prayed that the rest of the suit may be extinguished if the ex-parte order was not granted.
It also noted that there was real, imminent and urgent threat and danger of continuing to decimate the person and integrity of Tinubu by AIT by continuing to air the “offensive” broadcast if the ex-parte motion was not granted.
The court last week granted an interim injunction restraining AIT from airing the said documentary pending the determination of the interlocutory application.
But moving the application today, Chief Olanipeku urged the court to grant the motion as the defendants, AIT stands to lose nothing by temporary stopping the broadcast of the contentious documentary pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Olanipekun further stated that AIT’s contention that most of the contents in the said documentary were already on various online publication was not an excuse to continue to broadcast the document.
He further noted that AIT’s contention that the said documentary was a sponsored advertorial was also not an excuse to further continue the broadcast which has become a subject of litigation.
Olanipekun noted that AIT cannot continue to make money at the expense of Tinubu who he claimed had never been convicted by any court of law either in Nigeria or abroad.
In his response, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN insisted that Tinubu’s applicant would not in anyway be prejudiced if the court chooses to make an order stopping the broadcast.
Moreover, he stated that AIT had since stopped the broadcast of the documentary immediately after Tinubu instituted the suit.
Ozekhome contended that the issues contained in the documentary was already public knowledge as several website had already published similar facts.
Moreover he noted that since Tinubu had already demanded for N150billion as compensation which is the worth of his purported damaged integrity, it would not be wise to grant his prayer for interlocutory injunction restraining AIT from further broadcasting the documentary.
After hearing the argument of both parties, Justice Akinkugbe adjourned the matter till 1 April for ruling.