Admin l Friday, April 15, 2022
ABUJA, Nigeria – Celebrity blogger, Linda Ifeoma Ikeji has been ordered by a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja to pay the sum of N25 million as damages to Mrs. Ajibola Ajayi for defamatory publication. She is also required to publish an apology to the claimant in three tabloids.
Mrs. Ajibola Ajayi had through her lawyer, Ogunmuyiwa Balogun and others sued the publication for defamation in suit No. FCT/CV/667/2018.
In the action, Ajibola Ajayi claimed that Ms. Linda Ikeji in her online blog, http://lindaikejiblog.com on 15.01.17 and 17.01.17 cited Mrs. Ajibola Ajayi as having described protesting students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, as a “generation of mannerless children” in an Instagram post with the username “conceited_csj”.
In the judgment delivered on 12.04.2022, the Court held that the publication by Ms. Ikeji was false and malicious and that the evidence before the Court showed that the Defendant knew that the Instagram account with the username “conceited_csj” did not belong to the Claimant.
The Court further held that the publication was made available to readers worldwide which exposed the Claimant to ridicule by members of the public who read the offending article.
The Judge reiterated the trite principle of law that libel is actionable per se and consequently awarded general and exemplary damages in the sum of N25,000,000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Naira) against Ms. Linda Ikeji and directed Ms. Ikeji to publish a written apology to the Claimant in three National tabloids.
