News reaching our desk, indicates that a Plateau State High Court has struck-out a law suit of libel and defamation brought before it by the Plateau state Attorney-General, Mr. Edward Pwajok and the state government against rtd. Colonel David Dungs and the Guardian Newspaper Limited.

After diligently reviewing the submissions/arguments of the counsels, along with the opinion of superior courts, the presiding Judge, Justice R.K Adamu, held that the preliminary objection raised by the counsel of Col. Dungs, i.e., Mr. Solomon Umoh (SAN) succeeded and therefore he struck out the law suit from the court’s list for lack of jurisdiction.

In his ruling, he said “from all I have considered, the preliminary objection succeeds -the entire suit is incompetent before this court, and this renders the court powerless to try same. Consequently, this suit is hereby struck out of this court’s list for lack of jurisdiction.”

News reaching our desk, indicates that a Plateau State High Court has struck-out a law suit of libel and defamation brought before it by the Plateau State Attorney-General, Mr. Edward Pwajok and the State Government against rtd. Colonel David Dungs and the Guardian Newspaper Limited.

After diligently reviewing the submissions/arguments of the counsels, the presiding Judge, Justice R.K Adamu, held that the preliminary objection raised by the counsel of Col. Dungs, i.e., Mr. Solomon Umoh (SAN) succeeded and therefore he struck out the law suit from the court for lack of jurisdiction.

In his ruling, he said “from all I have considered, the preliminary objection succeeds -the entire suit is incompetent before this court, and this renders the court powerless to try same. Consequently, this suit is hereby struck out of this court for lack of jurisdiction.”

The plaintiffs had by a writ of summons, filed the action against the defendants backed by a 40-paragraph statement of claims on March 18, 2013, seeking among other demands, N10 billion as damages for the ‘false and malicious publication’ contained in The Guardian on Monday, October 8, 2012. The publication in the Guardian of October 8 was as a result of the senatorial bye-election held in Plateau North on October 6, 2012, to fill the vacant seat following the gruesome murder of late Senator Gyang Dantong by Fulani militia.

Senator Gyang N.S. Pwajok won th election and was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) returning officer. He defeated other contestants, including Col. Dungs, who was the runner up candidate. Dung reacted to the outcome of the exercise by alleging that the election was severely rigged. And the Guardian newspaper published his reactions which upset the plaintiffs, hence the suit. So the Guardian newspaper was therefore join in the suit as a counter-party.

On service of the writ on the defendants, the first defendant (Col. Dungs), filed a notice of preliminary objection on the ground that the first and second plaintiffs lacked the requisite locus standi to maintain the suit.

In response, Mr. Charles Obishai (SAN), the plaintiffs counsel, also filed a written address in which he vehemently opposed the preliminary objection. Both counsels tried to outwit each other in legal history, as a means of deciding the issue at hand. 

After arguments and counter-arguments by the lawyers, Justice Adamu said: “The first and second plaintiffs are the Attorney-General of the state and the governor of the state respectively, both of whom hold public offices in the executive arm of government.

“From the foregoing findings, they fall squarely within the meaning of the principle established in the case of Omega Bank Plc versus Ekiti State Government and others. That is, they lack the locus standi to bring an action against anyone in defamation and I humbly hold so.”

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Law suit against Col. Dungs and the Guardian Newspaper squashed by Court