The Ondo State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Omowunmi Isaac, and one Kunle Odide have dragged 35 elders of the All Progressives Congress earlier than the state Excessive Court docket sitting in Akure over an alleged libellous publication.
The claimants sued the elders over a publication in a nationwide each day (not The PUNCH) in February this 12 months, demanding N5bn in damages.
Additionally they requested the courtroom to order the defendants to publish an apology to them in three nationwide each day newspapers, amongst different reliefs.
One of many defendants within the go well with is a former Lawyer Basic and Commissioner for Justice within the state in the course of the administration of the late Rotimi Akeredolu, Mr Kola Olawoye (SAN).
Talking after the matter got here up for listening to earlier than the courtroom on Tuesday, Olawoye, who’s the primary defendant, mentioned he appeared for himself and 7 others, whereas legal professionals represented the remaining defendants.
He mentioned the 35 defendants had been APC leaders and elders from Owo Native Authorities Space of the state, including that they got here to courtroom ready to problem the jurisdiction of the courtroom and the competence of the processes filed by the claimants by a preliminary objection.
In line with him, the claimants had filed an utility looking for to appropriate some defects of their processes, which the defendants didn’t oppose.
He added that the courtroom, presided over by Justice Yemi Fasanmi, consequently awarded N100,000 in prices to every of the 35 defendants, amounting to N3.5m, earlier than adjourning the matter to October 8, 2026.
Olawoye mentioned, “The crux of their motion is that I wrote a letter to the nationwide chairman of our nice occasion, APC. The letter was couriered on to the nationwide chairman, which is our authorized proper beneath the legislation.
“The letter was not printed to a 3rd occasion; it was written to attract the eye of the occasion’s nationwide management to humorous developments inside the APC in our native authorities.”
The authorized luminary, nonetheless, famous that efforts had been made to resolve the dispute out of courtroom, including that the defendants had reached out to related authorities within the state, however the strikes had but to yield the specified end result.
“As an elder of the occasion, it’s essential to know that I’ll accommodate settlement. We made strikes. We talked to the authorities involved within the state. However they really feel in any other case.
“Now that we’ve an enormous election developing that considerations the President of this nation, we should not give room for something to disunite us, to set us aside. Our objective now, our goal, is that Tinubu should win,” he declared.
Reacting, counsel for the claimants, Mr Olaoluwa Imoru, mentioned the go well with was based on an alleged libellous publication authored, signed and brought about to be printed by the 35 defendants on February 2, 2026.
Imoru mentioned the claimants had been looking for declarations that the publication was “extraordinarily defamatory,” “disparaging” and “pointless,” along with aggravated, particular and normal damages over the alleged damage to their fame.
“They’re saying, invariably, that this individual (commissioner) exercised a sort of authority or energy over His Excellency, the governor. And that’s not the case right here.
“She is an appointee of the governor. She is subservient to the governor; she is answerable to the governor and never the opposite method round,” Imoru added.
