In its defence in the libel suit filed by APC leader, Bola Tinubu, Africa Independent Television, will say in court, that it was only doing its job when it aired the contentious documentary and also that none of the details in it were false.
Tinubu had filed a suit alleging that AIT impugned him with a documentary tagged “The Lion of Bourdillon,” which was repeatedly aired ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Justice Iyabode Akinkugbe, will preside over the matter on Wednesday, May 27 and the Chairman Emeritus of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and seven others have been listed as a witnesses in the N150bn libel suit.
AIT will insist that the information contained in “The Lion of Bourdillon” was not false nor was it aired to defame Tinubu.
A copy of the document filed by the company was obtained by Punch Newspapers and it reads in part:
“The defendant avers that the claimant is a former public office holder whose activities before, during and after leaving office are always in the public domain for proper scrutiny, in accordance with the intendment of the framers of the Nigerian Constitution.
“The defendant also avers that being in the business of information dissemination, it is aware that the contents of the said documentary are not news to many Nigerians, a fact very well known to the claimant, who took no steps to correct the information embedded in the print media and the social media platforms for years.
“For example, the pseudonym, ‘Lion of Bourdillon,’ by which the claimant has come to be known, addressed and associated with, over the years, was not given to him, or coined by the defendant.
Justice Iyabode Akinkugbe, will preside over the matter on Wednesday, May 27 and the Chairman Emeritus of DAAR Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and seven others have been listed as a witnesses in the N150bn libel suit.
AIT will insist that the information contained in “The Lion of Bourdillon” was not false nor was it aired to defame Tinubu.
A copy of the document filed by the company was obtained by Punch Newspapers and it reads in part:
“The defendant avers that the claimant is a former public office holder whose activities before, during and after leaving office are always in the public domain for proper scrutiny, in accordance with the intendment of the framers of the Nigerian Constitution.
“The defendant also avers that being in the business of information dissemination, it is aware that the contents of the said documentary are not news to many Nigerians, a fact very well known to the claimant, who took no steps to correct the information embedded in the print media and the social media platforms for years.
“For example, the pseudonym, ‘Lion of Bourdillon,’ by which the claimant has come to be known, addressed and associated with, over the years, was not given to him, or coined by the defendant.
