A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, has
lifted an injunction barring former President Olusegun
Obasanjo from publishing his autobiography, ‘My Watch’.
Justice Valentine Ashi ordered on the release of the books
which had been in the custody of the Nigerian Customs
Service.
The books were intercepted by the Nigerian Customs on the
strength of the court injunction which was granted on
December 10, 2014.
But Justice Valentine Ash set aside the order of injunction
on Monday upon an application by Obasanjo, through his
lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN).
The court asked the customs not to collect demurrage on
the books for the period they had overspent in their
custody.
The court upheld Agabi’s argument that the applicant, a
Peoples Democratic Party chief in Ogun State, Buruji
Kashamu, who is currently pursuing a N20bn libel suit
against Obasanjo in the same court, suppressed vital facts
to obtain the order.
No journalist was in court when the judge lifted the
injunction on Monday as the ruling was not delivered earlier
on March 30, the date originally fixed for it.
New date for the ruling was said to have been later
communicated to the parties.
Kashamu, had on December 10, 2014, obtained the
injunction from the court through an ex parte application
which he filed in his N20bn libel suit against Obasanjo.
Kashamu had anchored his prayer on the argument that
part of the book related to the subject matter of the libel
suit – a letter dated December 2, 2013 written by Obasanjo
to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Kashamu had instituted the libel suit against Obasanjo
having been dissatisfied with his being described by the
former President in the letter which was widely published in
the electronic and print media as a fugitive wanted for drug
offences in the United States of America.
On December 8, 2014, Justice Ashi granted an ex parte
application restraining Obasanjo from publishing the book
pending the determination of the libel suit.
But Obasanjo went ahead to present the book to the public
in Lagos, an act which the court held on December 10,
2014, as contemptuous.
Following the development the court ordered security and
law enforcement agencies including customs to confiscate
the book anywhere it was found.
The judge in his ruling on Obasanjo’s application on
Monday upheld Agabi’s argument that the order of
injunction was wrongly made.
Agabi had maintained that the court made the order without
jurisdiction.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said, “The single ground of
this application is that, in a case of libel, an interlocutory
injunction does not lie to restrain publication in the face of a
defendant pleading justification.
“The defendant (Obasanjo) is pleading justification. In
paragraph 24 of our counter-affidavit, the defendant said
his claim about the plaintiff is correct, true and justified
from records available in the federal court of the United
States.”
He said the court had “issued without jurisdiction” adding,
“The moment an interlocutory is granted, the issue is
prejudiced, fair hearing is prejudiced.”
He also argued that the court could only validly bar
publication in a libel suit after the case of libel was proven
against the defendant.
But Kashamu’s counsel, Mr. Alex Izinyon II, urged the court
to dismiss Obasanjo’s application seeking to set aside the
December 10, 2014 order.
He said the order having been enforced by being served on
the police, Nigeria Customs Service and other security
agencies, the application had lost relevance.
He told the court that Customs authority had recently
requested a copy of the order when its men intercepted a
container-load of the order.
The judge adjourned further proceedings in the matter till
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