Lauretta Onochie: Atiku appears in court over libel suit against Buhari’s aide

Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was on Tuesday at the registry of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, to sign his deposition in support of a N2.5 billion libel suit against an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie.

Mrs Onochie had tweeted on May 7 saying: “Atiku on UAE watchlist- Security sources.”

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She added: “Security operatives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are keeping a close tab on a former Nigerian Vice Pres Atiku Abubakar who has been in the Middle East nation for several weeks now.”

The presidential aide was requested to pay N500 million and a written apology to Atiku which she failed to do, prompting a legal suit.

Atiku, who filed the suit on June 26, is praying the court to inter alia make her retract her statement, and make a public apology to be published in three national newspapers with wide circulation within the country and also broadcast on AIT, Channels and NTA television stations.

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The former presidential candidate also wants the court to grant “an order directing the defendant to pay to the claimant, the sum of N2,500,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira) only, representing general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages over the untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the Defendant’s publications have caused the claimant.”