Following the opposition New Patriotic Party’s National Treasurer’s GH¢1 million defamation law suit against The aL-hAJJ and its Managing Editor, the paper’s attorney, James Abiaduka of Ebaa Law Consult has been instructed by Alhaji Bature Iddrisu to enter appearance and statement of defence.
Indications are that, the audacious social commentator cum Managing Editor, Alhaji Bature, has vowed to fight the case in court with the last drop of his blood.
Sounding confident but short of disclosing the kind of defence strategies opened to the paper and its Managing Editor, a source close to the lawyers revealed that they intend to subpoena NPP’s 2016 flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; National Chairman, Paul Afoko; Chairman of the party’s Finance Committee, Kwadwo Mpiani and Member of Parliament for Nhyiaso, Dr Richard Winfred Anane, when the case officially takes off.
Explaining further, the source said “the NPP stalwarts Alhaji Bature’s lawyers intend to “drag” to court were at all material time present at the said meeting when the issues on which the paper reported and has been sued by the NPP treasurer, Mr. Abankwa Yeboah, were raised and thoroughly discussed for which reason the lawyers will need them in court to testify”.
The NPP’s National Treasurer, Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah, has filed a GH¢1 million suit at an Accra Fast Track High Court against Harzet Company Limited, publishers of the The aL-hAJJ and its managing editor, Alhaji Bature Iddrisu for ‘loss of reputation libel.’
Mr. Abankwah-Yeboah is seeking a declaration that the banner headline of Thursday, August 13, 2015 edition in The aL-hAJJ, “Police probe: NPP Treasurer confesses – GH¢6 million in ‘secret account,” is defamatory.
He wants a further declaration that “the publication by the defendants that the plaintiff cannot properly account for nearly GH¢1 million belonging to the NPP is defamatory” and was “without any justification or probable cause.”
“A declaration that the entire publication of the defendants about the plaintiff is libelous as same was published without any lawful, reasonable or probable cause,” the plaintiff sought.
He is also seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants from further publishing defamatory stories about him and an order directed at the defendants to retract and apologize for the publication in the same prominence as the original story.
The plaintiff is insisting that the entire publication is ‘false’ and that he is not under any police investigation/probe for embezzling funds meant for the NPP, adding that the party has no secret account and as the National Treasurer, he is the custodian of the party’s funds and is obliged under the constitution of the party, to account for his stewardship to the stakeholders of the party at the end of his tenure of office.
Confirming receipt of the writ, Alhaji Bature, in an interview, noted that he has referred the matter to his lawyers, adding that in the coming days “we will do all necessary things required of us for hearing of the substantive case to begin.”
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