FCT High Court Adjourns DSS Operatives’ N5bn Defamation Suit Against SERAP for Judgment

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has adjourned indefinitely for judgment in the N5 billion defamation suit filed by two operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Justice Yusuf Halilu fixed the matter for judgment after counsel to both parties adopted their final written addresses.

The claimants, Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, instituted the suit following allegations made by SERAP in 2024 that officers of the DSS invaded its Abuja office. The two operatives are seeking N5 billion in damages, alleging that the publication was defamatory.

During the adoption of written addresses, counsel to SERAP, Victoria Bassey of Tayo Oyetibo, SAN Chambers, urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety. She argued that the action was fundamentally defective, maintaining that the claimants failed to prove that the alleged defamatory statements specifically referred to them.

According to her, the law on defamation requires a claimant to establish that the words complained of were published “of and concerning” them personally. She described this requirement as essential and not merely procedural.

Bassey noted that none of SERAP’s publications mentioned the claimants by name, rank, photograph, or official position. Instead, the statements referred generally to “officers from Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS)” and addressed the conduct of the institution as a whole.

She further argued that there was no evidence to show that any reasonable person would interpret the statements as referring specifically to the two operatives.

In response, counsel to the claimants, Oluwagbemileke Kehinde, urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought by his clients. He asked the court to disregard SERAP’s defence, describing it as incompetent.

Justice Halilu is expected to deliver judgment on a date to be communicated to the parties.