Cross River State Newspapers Corporation V. Mr. J.L. Oni & Ors (1995)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

IGUH, J.S.C.

In the Ibadan Judicial Division of the High Court of Justice, Oyo State, the plaintiffs, who are now the respondents, caused a writ of summons to issue against the appellant, who therein was the defendant claiming as follows:-

“(a) The sum of seven million naira as damages for libel contained in the issue of the Nigerian Chronicle of the 7th day of August, 1986 on the rear cover under the title “Tribune May be Shut by Awo.”

(b) An injunction restraining the defendant from further writing, printing or causing to be written, printed or circulated or otherwise publishing of the plaintiffs the said or similar libel”

Pleadings were ordered in the suit and were duly settled, filed and exchanged.

The facts of the case, briefly stated, are that the plaintiffs are the management staff of the African Newspapers of Nigeria Limited which prints and publishes the daily newspaper known as and called the “Nigerian Tribune.” The publication complained of is contained in the issue of the newspaper called the “Nigerian Chronicle” of the 7th August, 1986. The defendant is the printer and publisher of the said Nigerian Chronicle which has a large circulation throughout Nigeria.

The article in issue was published at the back page of the said edition of the Nigerian Chronicle under the heading, “Tribune May be Shut By Awo”, and runs thus:-

“The on-going staff recruitment exercise at the African Newspapers of Nigeria Limited, publishers of the Tribune Group of Newspapers, may be a barren one.

Sources close to the company said in Ibadan, that the founder of the company, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, is unhappy with the high incidence of corruption in the company, for many years now, particularly among the management staff of the company, and may shut it down.

According to the sources, a re-organisation is imminent and top management staff could be affected by the purge exercise. It is suspected that the place might be closed down temporarily and a retired Judge appointed as the company’s managing director, when it re-opens.

Junior Staff who wish to return would have to re-apply – Mr. Felix Adenaike, the current editor-in-chief of the newspaper, is likely to be retained.

Chief Awolowo is understood to have ordered that money be set aside to pay off the workers. The crises in Tribune started in 1984 when workers protested against alleged high-handedness of the editor-in-chief of the newspapers, Mr. Adenaike.”

The defendant, by paragraph 2 of the amended statement of defence, admitted printing and publishing the article but denied that the same was published of the plaintiffs, or of them in the way of their offices, or in relation to their conduct therein. Also by paragraph 9 of the same amended statement of defence, the defendant set up the defences of justification and fair comment and facts were pleaded in support of both defences.

At the subsequent trial, the 3rd plaintiff and one Mr. Peter Ajayi, a journalist and the Managing Director of the Sketch Press Limited, Ibadan testified for the plaintiffs who thereupon closed their case. Learned defendant’s counsel at that stage announced that he would call no evidence but would rest his defence on the plaintiff’s case. Both counsel then addressed the court.