Nana Ayuba V. Rakiya Sule (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

UWANI MUSA ABBA AJI, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Katsina State High Court holden at Katsina in Suit No.KTH/27/2005, delivered on 10/3/2010 by Hon. Justice Sadiq Abdullahi Mahuta (C.J), wherein the Claims of the Respondent for defamation were granted with N100,000.00 exemplary damages and N10,000.00 general damages.

The Respondents’ Claims at the Lower Court against the Appellant vide a writ of summons at pages 1 – 2 and Statement of Claim at pages 3-4 of the records respectively were as follows:

1. Exemplary damages against the defendant in the sum of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000.00).
2. General damages against the defendant in the sum of Five hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00).

The facts of the case as can be discerned from the records are that the Respondent sued the Appellant at the Katsina State High Court for defamation wherein 6 witnesses stood for the Respondent while the Appellant testified alone. After the conclusion, judgment was in favour of the Respondent hence this appeal by the Appellant.

?Thus, the Appellant appealed vide a Notice of Appeal

dated 13/4/2010 and filed on 16/4/2010, wherein 5 Grounds of appeal were raised herein reproduced without particulars:

GROUNDS OF APPEAL:

GROUND ONE:

The learned trial Judge erred in law when he held in the following passage of the judgment of the Court thus:

“It is therefore my considered view that a case of defamation has been established against the defendant in favour of the plaintiff…”

GROUND TWO:

The learned trial Judge erred in law when he held in the following passage of the judgment of the Court thus:

“However having gone through the statement of claim of the plaintiff, the words ‘Yar Iska’ ‘Karuwa’ and prostitute were clearly spelt out in paragraph 3 thereof even though learned counsel said the words were hybrid, It is however my considered opinion that the words complained of were actually spelt out and it really does not matter whether they were hybrid of Hausa and English Language.”

GROUND THREE: