How Saraki Fraudulently Obtained Court Order Freezing Sahara Reporters Account – Sowore

The publisher of the online medium, Sahara Reporters, has vowed to challenge an order of a Kwara State High Court which blocked bank accounts linked to him last month.

Omoyele Sowore said the July 25 garnishee order in Ilorin, the state capital, was “fraudulently procured” by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, as part of an ongoing libel suit against him and his platform.

A judge, Adeyinka Oyinloye, had issued the order to the United Bank for Africa, UBA and Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB, bankers of Mr. Sowore and Sahara Reporters, instructing them to immediately seize all funds held in a string of accounts associated with the defendants.

The development has been condemned by media rights advocates, who warned judicial officers to exercise restraint in pronouncing judgments in libel cases.

Mr. Oyinloye’s order came nearly a month after he also awarded Mr. Saraki up to N4 billion in damages on June 28.

The judge also said Sahara Reporters and Mr. Sowore must pay 10 per cent (N400 million) interest on the N4 billion monthly until both the principal damages and accrued interests are finally cleared.

Mr. Saraki instituted the case in Ilorin, his hometown where he is considered the most powerful political personality, accusing Sahara Reporters of publishing defamatory content against his personality.

The four stories at issue, which included news and opinion contents, were published between September and December 2015, court filings published by Vanguard Newspapers showed.

Although the Vanguard quoted Mr. Saraki’s lawyers as alleging that Mr. Sowore frustrated all efforts to serve court summons on him, the publisher contradicted the claim in an exchange with PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday.

He explained that Mr. Saraki’s lawyers and associates ‘conspired’ to send court papers to wrong addresses both in Nigeria and United States in order to deprive him of a chance to defend himself before the judge.