Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has described the N50bn defamation lawsuit filed against him at the Enugu High Court by the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, as “frivolous” and “an abuse of court processes.”
Omokri said he was confident that the case would be thrown out, noting that the statements attributed to Kanu, which he referenced in his public commentary, were well-documented and supported by evidence, including voice recordings and social media posts.
Kanu on Thursday sued Omokri for alleged malicious and reckless publication of false statements, demanding N50bn in general damages.
Omokri, in a post published on X (formerly Twitter), on July 6, alleged that Kanu and IPOB were responsible for the killing of soldiers, police officers, and other security personnel, as well as acts of violence attributed to so-called unknown gunmen.
But in a writ of summons, Kanu described the statements as false, baseless, prejudicial, and defamatory, saying they portrayed him as a criminal and a terrorist, thereby injuring his reputation and character.
The IPOB leader, who is under incarceration by the Department of Security Service, had approached the court through his brother, Emmanuel Kanu, with an affidavit seeking for “an order directing the defendant (Omokri) to publish a public apology to the plaintiff in two national newspapers and on his X account.
Kanu is also claiming, “Aggravated damages in the sum of N10,000,000,000.00 (Ten Billion Naira) for the malicious and reckless publication of false statements by the Defendant”, and “AN ORDER directing the Defendant (Omokri) to publish a full retraction of the defamatory statements in two national newspapers and on the Defendant’s Twitter/X account within seven days of the court’s judgment.”
However, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Omokri said he would not be bullied by Kanu and the IPOB, insisting that linking Kanu to violence was not defamatory when the IPOB leader’s own words and actions form the basis of such claims.
He described the suit as a desperate attempt to silence the truth.
“Kanu is the head of an organisation declared a terrorist group by the Nigerian government,” Omokri said in a statement on Saturday. “He made a broadcast on Radio Biafra in October 2020 where he incited his followers to burn down Lagos and kill security personnel,” he said.
Omokri quoted Kanu’s words from the alleged broadcast: “Lagos airport should be on flames… Set Murtala Muhammed Airport on fire. Set it ablaze right now. Then the world will listen.” He also cited instances where Kanu encouraged his supporters to attack military personnel, demanding to know, “How many police or army did you kill?”
He added that he was prepared to provide voice analysis data and witnesses to confirm Kanu made those statements, which, according to him, have had real-world consequences.
“Following his broadcasts and social media threats, security agents have been killed in the Southeast, just as he threatened,” Omokri alleged.
He also referenced a tweet posted by Kanu on June 2, 2021 — later deleted by Twitter — in which he threatened that “any army they send to Biafraland will die there. None will return alive.”
Omokri maintained that the tweet, made from a verified handle used consistently by Kanu, was never disowned by him and had since gone inactive following his arrest in Kenya on June 27, 2021.
