After about four adjournments, the N550 million defamation suit instituted by Senator Chris Anyanwu against former Imo State Governor, Ikedi Ohakim, resumed on Monday, September 28, 2026, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Jabi, Abuja.
The suit, marked No. FCT/HC/CV/1058/2025, came up for further hearing, with the Claimant’s counsel, Adekunle Kosoko, moving a motion seeking to regularise the Claimant’s Reply to the 1st Defendant’s Amended Statement of Defence.
Ohakim has denied granting the interview published by The Nation newspaper on January 12, 2025, which formed part of the basis of the defamation suit.
In paragraphs 7 and 9 of his Amended Statement of Defence, Ohakim denied responsibility for the publication and the specific statements complained of by Anyanwu.
The defence stated, among other things, that the former governor “did not write, utter, publish and/or cause to be published” the words complained of by the claimant.
Ohakim also alleged that Anyanwu “concocted and issued a press statement” for the purpose of instituting the suit.
Responding to the application before the court on Monday, counsel to Ohakim, K.C.O. Njemanze, SAN, said the defence needed to examine the process filed by the claimant in view of the application.
The court thereafter adjourned the matter until November 4, 2026, for continuation of trial.
The suit arose from comments allegedly attributed to Ohakim in an interview published by The Nation in January 2025 concerning Anyanwu and her memoir, Bold Leap.
In her Amended Reply to Ohakim’s Amended Statement of Defence, Anyanwu denied the allegations raised against her and maintained that the statements complained of were defamatory and made with malice.
She particularly challenged an alleged assertion that she had written an apology to the late former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and that she had relied on military connections during her political career.
According to her pleading, Ohakim had claimed that an apology letter existed and indicated that he would publish it, but allegedly failed to do so.
Anyanwu further alleged that the statements were made with the intention of damaging her reputation and gaining political advantage. The allegations are expected to be contested by the defence during trial.
The claimant also stated that Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation, had apologised to her privately and publicly over the publication.
She maintained that Bold Leap was an account of her life and experiences and denied defaming Ohakim in the memoir.
Ohakim, in his Amended Statement of Defence, denied that the statements complained of were defamatory. He also maintained, among other grounds, that the suit was incompetent and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
The defence further denied several assertions made by Anyanwu concerning her political and professional career and indicated that the issues would be challenged during trial.
Meanwhile, the claimant’s witnesses were present in court, including Dr. Joyce Ejukonemu, who had earlier given evidence-in-chief and was scheduled for cross-examination on Monday.
The case has now been adjourned to November 4, 2026, for continuation of trial.
