The trial judge, Justice Franklin Edem, delivered the judgment in a suit marked HAB/75/2024, instituted by Ugadu against Nwoba for alleged defamation arising from a series of posts published on the defendant’s Facebook page.
In the suit, the plaintiff had approached the court seeking redress over what he described as false, malicious and injurious publications made by the defendant in 2024 and 2025, which he argued damaged his reputation and professional standing as a legal practitioner.
After evaluating the pleadings, documentary exhibits and oral testimonies presented during the trial, Justice Edem held that the claimant successfully established his case and that the publications in question were indeed defamatory.
The court specifically declared that Exhibits P1, P5, P9, P10 and P11, tendered by the plaintiff and admitted in evidence, constituted defamatory materials published by the defendant on June 15, 2024; September 18, 2024; February 18, 2025; and July 17, 2025 on his Facebook page against the plaintiff.
Justice Edem ruled that the statements contained in the publications were injurious to the claimant’s reputation and amounted to actionable defamation under the law.
Consequently, the court awarded the sum of ₦5,000,000 (Five Million Naira) to the plaintiff as general and aggravated damages for the injury suffered as a result of the defamatory publications.
In addition to the monetary award, the court granted a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, servants or privies from further publishing or disseminating any defamatory statements against the plaintiff through any media platform.
The court further directed the defendant to issue a formal retraction of the defamatory publications.
According to the order, Nwoba must, within 30 days from the date of the judgment, publish a retraction of the offending statements on his Facebook page consistently for seven consecutive days, accompanied by a public apology to the plaintiff.
The ruling reinforces the growing judicial stance on accountability for defamatory statements made on digital and social media platforms, underscoring that online publications remain subject to the same legal scrutiny as traditional media under Nigerian defamation law.
