Why Court Struck out FUOYE VC's Defamation Suit Against Ex-Lecturer

On Monday, the Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, struck out a criminal defamation suit which arose from a petition written by T.S. Adegboyega, a legal practitioner, on behalf of Abayomi Sunday Fasina, the vice chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, in August 2023.

Fasina had accused Adeyemi Ezekiel Oluwagbemiga, a lecturer contentiously sacked by FUOYE, of publishing a defamatory statement to the effect that he was earning a double salary from FUOYE and the Ekiti State University in contravention of pubic service rules.

The publication Fasina and the police considered defamatory was a letter the lecturer wrote and submitted to President Bola Tinubu, calling for an investigation into reported double salary payments. Some paragraphs from the said letter read as follows:

It is to the notification of the general public and on record that Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina did collect salaries in both Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria and Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria simultaneously for the following months viz: October 2016; November 2016; December 2016; January 2017; February 2017 and September 2017. In February 2017, he collected over N1,000,000:00 (One Million Naira) as a salary in Federal University Oye-Ekiti as against the normal salary of full-time Professor which is over N500,000:00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) and in September 2017, he collected salary in both Universities when he had left service of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti (EKSU) to the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) [See attached Folio 2 sample of petition earlier written on fraudulent collection of double salary by Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina and other necessary documents].

A copy of the letter written by Bayo Idowu on behalf of Adeyemi Olugbemiga to the president.
This act of the said Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina constitutes a criminal act and misconduct that is punishable under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and extant Public Service Rules, 2009.

It is also important to mention that we have sent petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Inspector General of Police (IGP) in the past without any of these organisations and institutions taken action.

Fasina then petitioned the police over the letter, saying it was defamatory against his person.

As a result, the police arrested and instituted suit FHC/AD/62C/2023 between the inspector general of police (IGP) and Oluwagbemiga, consisting of two counts:

"That you Adeyemi Ezekiel Oluwagbemiga on or about 5th of July, 2023 in Ado-Ekiti, within the judicial division of this court, through Mr Bayo Idowu, a legal practitioner, did publish defamatory matters which you know to be false against Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, the vice chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, and cause same to be served on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the visitor of the university. You thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under section 375 of the Criminal Code Act Cap 77 LFN 2004," the first count read.
A copy of the charge sheet.
"That you Adeyemi Ezekiel Oluwagbemiga during the same period, place and aforementioned judicial division, did forge documents attached to the defamatory matter. You thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under section 467 of the Criminal Code Act Cap 77 LFN 2004," Count Two also read.

Due to lack of jurisdiction, Justice Babs Kuewumi struck out the case and redirected it to the Ekiti chief judge for reassignment.

"We were about to open our defence when the court, suo motu, raised the issue of jurisdiction," Bayo Idowu, Oluwagbemiga's legal representative, told the press on Thursday.

"We returned to the court on Wednesday and the court delivered its ruling, declining jurisdiction over the case because Section 251 of Nigeria's constitution does not empower the Federal High Court to entertain it."

In Ekiti, where Fasina and Olugbemiga are residents, defamation is not a criminal offence.

For that, Idowu said, "We are now waiting for the case file to be transferred to the chief judge, notwithstanding the fact that defamation has been decriminalised in Ekiti. We will see how he [Fasina] would approach the court."
FIJ