Business Mogul Drags Online Media Outfit to Court, Demands N100m Damages in Kogi

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

Apparently disturbed by an online publication, the Chief Executive Officer of PFTN Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gabriel Onoja, has dragged the Sahara Reporter before a Lokoja High Court in a claim of N100 million damages.

A legal practitioner, Mr. Shalifu Ogwuche Usman, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Lokoja yesterday, saying the press briefing became imperative with a view to making some clarification on the salient issues.

Usman explained that the online media outfit had published a story injurious to Onoja and his business outfits and humanitarian works.

According to him, “The Sahara Reporters in its publication stated that a business partner of the Kogi State Deputy Governor, Edward David Onoja, had defrauded one Mr. Olawale Oluwole of the sum of N500 million, thereby damaging the reputation of the CEO of PFTN Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gabriel David Onoja, in the said publication.

The legal practitioner pointed out that there was business deal worth N400 million between PFTN Nigeria Limited and Mr. Olawale Oluwole in respect of coal movement to the core industrial areas of Southwest.

He added that since commencement of the business, his client has consistently paid a turn over returns of N28 million every month, noting that Oluwole still got an alert of N28 million with clear evidence to show for this transaction.

Usman noted that the business activities began to nose dive as from February in view of the increase in price of diesel, lamenting that instead of Oluwale to verify from the CEO of PFTN, Mr. Gabriel Onoja, what was going on, he decided to engaged the service of Sahara Reporter to publish a damaging story injurious to his personality and businesses.

“Our client put a call to Oluwole to as matter urgency to retract all the statement credited to him in the publication, but there was no response. We also wrote to the Sahara Reporters said to be domiciled in the United Kingdom, and traced the office at Adekunle Street in Ikeja, Lagos State.

“A legal team is already at Lokoja High Court to institute a libel suit, claiming the sum of N100 million damages against Sahara Reporters on behalf of our client, Mr. Gabriel Onoja, whose reputation the publication has damaged,” the lawyer stated.