N1bn damages: Court fixes June 29 for suit against KadPoly, others

An FCT High Court on Thursday fixed June 29 for hearing in a N1billion damages suit filed by a civil servant, Bilkisu Sannusi.

Sannusi dragged authorities of the Kaduna Polytechnic over alleged defamatory publication against her.

Also named as defendant is Mr Idris Bugaje, the Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic.

The plaintiff’s counsel, Martin Opara informed the court, that his client, who is a Deputy Director in the Budget office of the Federation had been subpoenaed to testify.

Sannusi, through Opara, instituted a suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/54/2021, and dated Feb. 24.

She alleged that she had suffered “great hardship and psychological trauma” as a result of the defendants’ conduct which was “unfounded and unjustifiable.”

In her statement of claim, Sanusi alleged the Rector of the Kaduna Polytechnic, described her person as “incompetent and corrupt” in a publication that was widely circulated.

The plaintiff is the Schedule Officer for the Kaduna Polytechnic in the Budget office of the Federation.

The said defamatory publication, she said, is authored by the defendants is dated April 15, 2019, but was only dispatched on June 26, 2020 in the office of the Permanent Secretary, Special Duty, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

Same, she said, was passed to the Director General Budget office of the Federation, evidencing wide publication of same as disclosed by the minutes on it.

Sanusi, denied ever demanding for any bribe or any sort of favour from the defendants to do her job as the Schedule Officer of the Kaduna Polytechnic.

She explained that while testifying at an investigative panel of inquiry that was constituted to probe complaints of corrupt practices against her colleagues at the budget office in July 2020, she was confronted with a complaint letter that was authored by the defendants wherein she was described in “uncharitable words.”

The plaintiff urged the court to declare that the defendants’ publication of defamed her person as same is “untrue, maliciously made and a calculation at bringing the plaintiff’s personality into disrepute and did achieve same.

She prayed for an order compelling the defendants to forthwith retract the said statement so published and tender apology to the plaintiff in two national dailies.

She also demanded for damages in the sum of N1 billion against the defendants.