Court Orders Halima Abubakar To Pay N10 Million Naira To Apostle Suleiman For This Shocking Reason
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has issued a verdict ordering Nollywood actress Halima Abubakar to pay a sum of N10 million to Apostle Johnson Suleiman, the founder of Omega Fire Ministries International, for making defamatory statements against him on social media.
Justice Enobie Obanor, who delivered the judgement, stated that the awarded amount would serve as aggravated and general damages for the harm caused to the cleric’s reputation due to the actions of the actress.
Additionally, the court mandated Abubakar to retract all defamatory posts she made against Apostle Suleiman on her Instagram handle, @Halimabubakar.
The lawsuit, marked
FCT/HC/CV/3413/2022, was initiated by Apostle Suleiman, who accused Abubakar of making several libelous statements against him on her Instagram page.
These statements were subsequently picked up by various blogs and mainstream media outlets.
Among the derogatory remarks made by Abubakar, she referred to Apostle
Suleiman as a womanizer and a highly diabolic individual who exploited women.
Apostle Suleiman presented evidence of the defamatory posts to the court, highlighting the significant damage they caused to his reputation.
He demanded N1 billion in damages and an additional N20 million to cover legal expenses.
Despite being served with court documents, Abubakar did not appoint legal representation for the case, leading Justice Obanor to rule in favor of Apostle Suleiman due to her failure to defend herself adequately.
In his judgement delivered on March 27 and certified on April 8, Justice Obanor declared that the statements. made by Abubakar were both false and malicious, constituting defamation against Apostle Suleiman.
Consequently, the court ordered Abubakar to pay N10 million as aggravated and exemplary damages for libel contained in her Instagram posts and subsequent publications on various online platforms.
Furthermore, the court directed Abubakar to remove all defamatory content related to Apostle Suleiman from the internet.
