A United States-based law firm, Ogebe and Ogebe and Co., has filled a $5 million lawsuit against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the country’s Minister for Women Affairs on the instructions of its client, Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe, for alleged defamation.

According to a statement issued by the law firm, a copy of which was made available to News Express, Emmanuel Ogebe, a globally recognised international human rights lawyer based in the USA and a well-known humanitarian, was repeatedly and viciously defamed by officials of the government after numerous failed attempts to intimidate and harass him for his work on behalf of victims of crisis in Nigeria.

The law firm said: “It is quite unusual for a government to tarnish the image of its citizens but to do so for an illustrious son abroad shows the extreme irresponsibility of a government who should rather be championing the image of Nigeria abroad.

“This action arises out of Mr. Ogebe’s charitable efforts to sponsor 12 Nigerian victims to school in the US including 10 Chibok schoolgirls. These girls are among the 3,000 IDP children that Mr. Ogebe and other humanitarians have sponsored to school. While in civilised societies, Mr. Ogebe would be lauded for his work, in Nigeria his home government has engaged in outright lies and sabotage.

“This action seeks to set the record straight and hold the government accountable for its malicious and fantastically deceitful defamation of our client’s good name.”

Update news