The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Gwarinpa, Abuja, has ordered that a ₦40 billion defamation suit filed against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, be served through substituted means.
Justice M. A. Hassan issued the directive while ruling on an ex parte application brought by Tonye Cole, a former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State.
Cole, in suit number CV/4502/25, sued Wike and Channels Television (Channels Incorporated Limited) over comments the minister made during the September 18 edition of the programme Politics Today, which he alleges were defamatory.
In his statement of claim, Cole contends that Wike’s remarks on the live broadcast were false, malicious, and damaging to his character. He alleges that the statements wrongly linked him to financial misconduct involving the Rivers State gas projects and the Olympia Hotel.
The former APC candidate is seeking ₦40 billion in damages for reputational harm, as well as ₦500 million as the cost of the suit. He is also asking the court for declarations that the statements were false and defamatory, an order compelling the defendants to retract the comments, take down all related publications, and issue a public apology on Channels Television and in at least five national newspapers.
