A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has adjourned the ₦5.5 billion defamation suit filed against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, due to the absence of its lead counsel. The case involves two operatives of the Department of State Services, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogunleye, who allege that SERAP defamed them in media reports.
The claimants insist that SERAP accused them of unlawfully invading the organization’s office, claims which they say have severely damaged their reputations as law-abiding security officers. At Thursday’s sitting, Justice Halilu Yusuf noted the absence of SERAP’s lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, who had written to the court explaining he was engaged at the Court of Appeal in Lagos.
Counsel for the claimants, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, confirmed his receipt of the letter from the defense. “We received the letter from my learned friend and we are not opposing the application for an adjournment,” Kehinde stated.
Following this, Justice Halilu Yusuf adjourned the high-profile suit. The judge has now fixed November 12 for SERAP to open its defence in the case.
