Premiere Academy’s N500M Defamation Suit: Court Admits Exhibits Against Ughegbe
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has accepted eight exhibits submitted by the Premiere Academy of Abuja as part of its N500 million defamation lawsuit against Lemmy Ughegbe, a gender activist based in Abuja.
Justice Kayode Agunloye, presiding over the case at the Kwali division of the court, admitted the exhibits during a session where Barrister Chike Nwogho represented the Academy.
Premiere Academy, located in the Lugbe area of Abuja, is seeking N500 million in damages, claiming that Ughegbe’s defamatory statements have harmed its reputation. The lawsuit, filed by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), requests that the court prohibit Ughegbe from making further defamatory remarks, particularly regarding the alleged rape of a female student, Miss Keren-Happuch, who reportedly died on the school premises.
The Academy alleges that Ughegbe has repeatedly claimed that the 14-year-old student was raped, and a condom was left inside her, leading to sepsis and subsequent complications that resulted in her death from hyperglycemia on June 22, 2021.
During proceedings, Nwogho presented eight materials to support the Academy’s case, including a flash drive containing a video clip of Ughegbe addressing approximately 5,000 lawyers at the 2021 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, where the alleged defamatory comments were made.
Additionally, the Academy submitted three years’ worth of admission registers, showing a decline in student enrollment attributed to Ughegbe’s persistent allegations. In 2022, the registers indicated that only 59 new applicants sat for the admission examination, reflecting a downward trend over the past three years.
Other exhibits included online news articles from Daily Independent and The Sun, published on September 2, 2021, which Ughegbe allegedly used to disseminate defamatory claims about the Academy. The court also reviewed a letter from Awomolo SAN’s law firm warning Ughegbe against further defamatory actions, along with his response, submitted through his lawyer, Johnbull Adaghe.
In opposition to the admission of these documents, Ughegbe’s counsel raised several objections, arguing that some were not properly front-loaded and were absent from the witness statement of the Academy’s Principal. However, the plaintiff’s lawyer successfully countered these objections by referencing specific paragraphs in the witness statement that referred to the documents.
Justice Kayode Agunloye ultimately overruled the objections and admitted the exhibits into evidence.
The court has scheduled a session for March 18 to publicly present the video clip featuring Ughegbe’s allegedly defamatory remarks. The case has been adjourned for the cross-examination of witnesses by Ughegbe’s legal counsel.
Ughegbe, who leads the Coalition of Gender-Based Violence Responders (CGBVR), has expressed that he will not be intimidated by what he described as the Academy’s attempts to silence him through legal means. He has submitted his statement of defense, which he plans to present during his testimony.
