FORMER chief of army staff Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika has filed a N100bn (£348m) libel suit against Australian hostage negotiator Dr Stephen Davies for accusing him of sponsoring the terrorist group Boko Haram. In a series of interviews, Dr Davis has accused Lt General Ihejirika and former Borno State governor Ali Modu Sheriff of being among the high profile sponsors of Boko Haram. Lt General Ihejirika, 58, was Nigeria's chief of army staff between 2010 and 2014 before being retired by President Goodluck Jonathan.
His main task while head of the Nigerian Army was to fight the Boko Haram insurgency but Dr Davis said he used his position to covertly support the group. According to the negotiator, Lt General Ihejirika kept the insurgency going so he could continue to receive military funding from the government.
Yesterday, Lt General Ihejirika filed the suit in a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja through his team of lawyers, comprising of Chief Nnoruka Udechukwu, Professor Ilegbune and Ben Anechebe.
His lawyers claim their client has suffered grievous wrong and he has been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and his character, credit and reputation brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad.
They have already obtained an order of the court to serve the process on the defendant abroad and have applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for permission to serve Dr Davis with the warrant in Perth, Australia, where he lives. Australia and Nigeria are members of the Commonwealth and a special procedure applies when serving court processes on a defendant.
Lt General Ihejirika is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Dr Davis or his agents from further making defamatory comments about him. He also seeks an order compelling the defendant to publish a full and unqualified retraction and apology conspicuously in the front page of a newspaper to assuage what he says is a false, malicious and libellous publication.
Lt General Ihejirika said that he retired meritoriously from the military after a successful career and that he served the army without blemish. He subsequently also wants Dr Davis to retract his statement that he was sacked from the army by President Jonathan for having committed treason or treasonable felony.
According to Lt General Ihejirika the public who listened to Dr Davis' broadcast on Arise TV believed that he had conducted himself in a manner tantamount to breaching his oath of allegiance and service as a soldier and senior officer in the Nigerian Army. No date has yet been fixed for the hearing and it is not clear if Dr Davis will attend in person. - See more
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