Former Ambassador to Namibia, Lilian Onoh, has taken legal action by filing a libel suit against Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and Gabriel Aduda, a former Permanent Secretary at the ministry.
Onoh accuses Onyeama and Aduda of utilizing a New York-based online newspaper to tarnish her reputation.
Former Ambassador to Namibia, Lilian Onoh, has taken legal action by filing a libel suit against Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and Gabriel Aduda, a former Permanent Secretary at the ministry.
The suit was filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas and has been assigned to Judge Jane Boyle for adjudication, although no hearing date has been fixed.
In the court documents, Onoh accuses Onyeama and Aduda of utilizing a New York-based online newspaper to tarnish her reputation.
According to Steven Thornton, counsel to Onoh, the online newspaper published an article in April claiming that Onoh was sacked by the Nigerian government due to the misappropriation of ₦50 million. The publication included Onoh’s photograph to ensure clarity on the subject of the story.
Thornton expressed his discontent with the paper’s portrayal of Onoh as corrupt, alleging that the media outlet informed its global audience of the diversion of funds meant for the operation of Nigeria’s High Commission in Namibia.
The article, as claimed by Onoh’s counsel, stated that Aduda and Onyeama were members of an investigative committee that indicted Onoh for fraud. Onoh, in a series of memos to then Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, accused Onyeama of condoning corrupt practices at the foreign ministry during his supervision.
As an Ambassador, Onoh reported multiple incidents of embezzlement of millions of U.S. dollars and billions of naira of Nigerian government funds by various officials.
She also disclosed the embezzlement of $2.8 million in Red Cross Funds intended for Haiti earthquake victims and exposed acts of visa racketeering against the USA and other countries by her successor in Jamaica.
In response to the allegations, Onoh’s lawyer, Thornton, argued that the claims made by Sahara Reporters in the alleged offending story were false.
He stated that Onoh was never terminated from any posting with the Nigerian government for misappropriation of funds.
Furthermore, Thornton asserted that Onyeama did not form a seven-person committee to investigate Onoh, and Aduda did not head any such committee.
In the prayers submitted before the judge, Thornton demanded costs of litigation and “all such other and further relief at law and in equity to which Onoh may show herself to be justly entitled.”
