The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming Lagos East Senatorial District bye-election, Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi, is set to drag the All Progressive Congress, APC and its Lagos State Chapter spokesperson, Mr Seye Oladejo, before the Lagos High Court for defamation of character. In a Memorandum of Claim issued by human rights activist, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, Gbadamosi gave seven days notice to Oladejo to retract the offending publication, tender an unreserved apology together with payment of damages or face civil action in court.

It will be recalled that Oladejo had claimed in his statement widely reported on 23rd November, 2020, that Gbadamosi forged his WAEC certificate because the certificate did not include some subjects. Gbadamosi is claiming that the publications of Oladejo were maliciously issued in order to tarnish his good reputation and to gain undue advantage for the candidate of the APC in the said bye-election. He stated further that a careful investigation would have revealed to Oladejo that the policy of WAEC is to issue certificates only for courses in which a pass has been recorded by the candidate.

In the Memorandum of Claim signed by Adegboruwa, Gbadamosi’s proposed claims are stated to include a declaration that Oladejo’s authored publication reported in several newspapers and online media on or about November 23 and November 24, 2020, is calculated to wrongly expose the Gbadamosi to contempt, ridicule, obloquy and odium in the estimation of right-thinking members of the Society, a declaration that Oladejo’s approval and publication of his issued press statements reported in several newspapers and online media, is false, malicious and defamatory, an order compelling the Defendant to retract the aforesaid libelous issued statements, an order compelling the Defendant to issue to the Claimant, a letter of unreserved apology for the said publication of his issued press statements reported in several newspapers and online media against the Claimant and publish the said letter of apology in four National Newspapers. Gbadamosi is also seeking an order restraining the Defendant, whether by himself, agents, servants, employees, privies, assigns, friends or personal representatives, or otherwise howsoever from further publishing, posting or hosting such defamatory statements against the Claimant, an order directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant, the sum of N1 billion, representing aggravated and exemplary damages for the injury, loss and/or likely loss of reputation and character caused the Claimant by the Defendant’s publication, an order directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant, the sum of N100 million, representing general damages over the embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, mental agony and psychological trauma caused the Claimant by the Defendants’ publication.

The Lagos East Senatorial District Bye-election is scheduled to be held this Saturday, December 5, 2020.