*Details blackmail, propaganda against Okonjo-Iweala
A Federal High Court in the Abuja Judicial Division, Apo awarded N200 million as general and exemplary damages against notorious fake news peddler and fugitive, Jackson Ude after he published series of lies against former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Ude, who concocted different stories that was published on his website, www.pointblanknews.com, claimed that Okonjo-Iweala had awarded contracts to her brother and bought a house using government funds, all of which turned out to be lies.
After a six-year legal tussle, Hon. Justice Chizoba N. Oji gave an order of a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from publishing further words defamatory of the plaintiff through the defendants’ website or any written medium.
In his normal attitude of peddling fake news, Ude had claimed that Okonjo-Iweala purchased a massive home in Maitama, Abuja for a whooping N1.2 billion.
He said the Finance Minister paid for the property located at No 3 Nwaora close, off Gana Street, Abuja on November 2011 to popular Abuja estate company EFab Properties Limited owned by Fabian Nwaora.
Ude then claimed that Okonjo Iweala through Georgetown Consultancy, a US-based company owned by her brother Chi-Chi Okonjo pocketed about $2 billion in commission in the last debt buy back deal under the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
He then said that Okonjo-Iweala forced the Finance Ministry and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to award contracts to her brother’s company.
He said this were the things that led to Okonjo-Iweala’s sack by the Obasanjo’s administration. “When he discovered that Okonjo Iweala made tons of cash from the deal at the expense of Nigeria, she was removed from the economic team, and redeployed to the Foreign Affairs ministry.” Ude claimed.
“Aside Chi-Chi Okonjo who gets multi-million dollar contracts in Nigeria without due process, through his sister, Ngozi, another very close friend of the finance minister who gets patronage is Bimbo Ogunseitan,” he added.
According to Ude, Okonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance under the government of Olusegun Obasanjo steered public contracts to her brother worth up to $50 million, with the help of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai. “The contracts were said to have been awarded to the man, identified only as “JonJon”, for consulting work for the ministry.
Countering Ude’s story, Okonjo-Iweala presented a photocopy of a letter dated January 11th 2012 from one Chief Dr. Fabian O. Nwaora addressed “to whom it may concern’’ denying sale of any such property to the former minister at the material time. The letter was admitted and marked an ‘Exhibit’. Chief Nwaora also denied that at no time did he grant an interview to Pointblanknews.com.
According to court documents, Ude and his blog never appeared in court despite hearing notices served on them. They did not cross examine witnesses who were thus discharged by the court.
