The management of Breaking Times, an online newspaper, has announced that it is slamming a N2 billion defamation lawsuit against Hadiza Bala Usman, the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Ms. Usman had on Friday 28th April, 2017 filed a N1 billion suit against Breaking Times at an Abuja High Court for allegedly defaming her in a report titled, How El-Rufai and Hadiza Usman bribed APC Chieftains with $25,000 each to make him Vice President”.
But in a statement issued on Saturday,
April 29, 2017, Anthony Ehilebo, the publisher of the online platform,
said that at no point in time did Breaking Times publish the said defamatory report.
The Trent had earlier reported that Ms. Usman’s lawsuit is targeted at the wrong platform, a mistake which draws question to her presence of mind and motivations for making Breaking Times a target.
“News of the defamation suit therefore comes as not only shocking but deeply embarrassing as the management of Breaking Times has
been inundated with calls from friends, family members, business
partners and associates as well as numerous clients who are now
disengaging from doing business with Breaking Times,” the newspaper
said.
The full statement which was emailed to The Trent said.
“The attention of the publisher and
management of Breaking Times Communications Ltd, owners of BREAKING
TIMES (TheBreakingTimes.com) – a leading Nigerian online newspaper has
been drawn to a report by The Guardian newspaper of Saturday April 29, 2017 with the headline “NPA boss slams journalist with N1 billion libel suit”.
“According to the report, “The Managing
Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman has filed a
suit at Federal High Court Abuja seeking for justice against the alleged
false publications in an online media, and claiming N1 billion for
damages. Usman, who was in court yesterday for the suit filed against
Prince Henry Nwazuruahu Shield and thebreakingtimes.com for
defamation of character. Usman picked exception to the report published
on 22nd March 2017 titled: “How El-Rufai and Hadiza Usman bribed APC
Chieftains with $25,000 each to make him Vice President”.
“Suffice it to say, that at no point in
time did BREAKING TIMES publish the said defamatory report. News of the
defamation suit therefore comes as not only shocking but deeply
embarrassing as the management of BREAKING TIMES has been inundated with
calls from friends, family members, business partners and associates as
well as numerous clients who are now disengaging from doing business
with BREAKING TIMES.
“Considering that the said defamatory
report was published by TheBreakingPostNG – a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
online media organization and a fact that is supported by tweets issued
from the official Twitter account of Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman as well as
published reports where TheBreakingPostNG reportedly apologized and
retracted the report shows clearly that this was a calculated and
mischievous attempt with the intent to defame and damage the brand –
BREAKING TIMES.
“Also, considering the position of Ms.
Usman as a senior and active member of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC), it lends credence to the argument that this was an
attempt to destroy the credibility of BREAKING TIMES for its perceived
efforts as a rallying point for opposition voices under a democratically
elected government where the concept of free press is now a mirage and
the freedom of speech for all citizens is no longer guaranteed.
“The official Twitter handle of BREAKING TIMES – @BTBreakingTimes is VERIFIED by Twitter; making it easy to be differentiated from other brands.
“How is it possible that Ms. Usman with
her status as the chief executive of a top-ranking Nigerian government
agency as the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) cannot differentiate between
BREAKING TIMES and TheBreakingPostNG save for the malicious attempt to
label our brand as a purveyor of fake, unprofessional and defamatory
news content?
“Why was it convenient for Ms. Usman to
admit in her tweets that she was defamed by TheBreakingPostNG only to
switch to BREAKING TIMES at the point she decided to engage her lawyers
to file a N1 billion lawsuit for defamation?
“Is Ms. Usman aware of the irreparable
damage she has done to our years of painstaking hard work and
professionalism as an online news medium?
“Let it be clear that the Management of
Breaking Times Communications Ltd will not be subdued into silence by
the subversive manipulation and ongoing crackdown on the media by
government agencies, their officials and other state actors.
“In the light of this and as a deterrent
to those who are always hasty to intimidate, harass and drag
journalists and their media organisations to court over reports they
consider unfavorable to them, the Management of Breaking Times
Communications Ltd is proceeding to court to seek redress for what it
considers an injurious infraction on its rights as a legal entity.
“We are suing Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman for
defamation to the tune of N2 billion. This is a first step in our
efforts to begin the reparation of this malicious damage inflicted on
BREAKING TIMES – a media house whose only crime is speaking truth to
power.”
Signed
Anthony Ehilebo
For: Breaking Times Communications Ltd
For: Breaking Times Communications Ltd
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