Tinubu vs AIT: Court fixes April 1 for ruling

Justice Olamide Akinkugbe of  a  Lagos High Court has fixed April 1 for ruling on the interlocutory application filed by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju  Bola Tinubu, against the Africa Independent Television (AIT).

Justice Akinkugbe fixed the date after taking the submissions of the applicants and defendants in the N150 billion suit filed by Asiwaju Tinubu against the AIT.

The trial judge  last week granted an interim injunction restraining the AIT from airing the said documentary pending the determination of the interlocutory application.

Asiwaju Tinubu had sued the AIT before the court over  a documentary broadcast by the station, titled ‘Lion of Bourdillion’ which he said was  aimed at tarnishing his image.

In an ex-parte motion file  through his counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the APC National Leader sought an order of interim injunction restraining the AIT whether by itself, agents, privies and or other persons from producing or continuing to broadcast, airing, or continuing to reproduce the documentary.

In his application, Tinubu urged the court  to restrain the TV station from continuing the broadcast of the documentary which it started airing on March 1    and had been repeating daily, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice dated March 5.

The motion further noted that damages would not adequately compensate applicant/claimant, if the ex-parte order was not granted and prayed that the rest of the suit may be extinguished, if the ex-parte order was not granted.

It stated that  there was real, imminent and urgent threat and danger of continuing to decimate the person and integrity of Asiwaju Tinubu by the AIT by continuing to air the “offensive” broadcast, if the ex-parte motion was not granted.

But moving the application yesterday, Chief Olanipeku urged the court to grant the motion stressing that  the defendants, the AIT, stands to lose nothing by temporary stopping the broadcast of the contentious documentary, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Olanipekun disagreed with the submission of  the AIT  that most of the contents in the said  documentary were already on various online publications, emphasizing that this was not an excuse to continue to broadcast the documentary.

He also submitted that the claims of the television station that  the said documentary was a sponsored advertorial was also not an excuse to further continue the broadcast which has become a subject of litigation.

He argued that the AIT  cannot continue to make money at the expense of Asiwaju Tinubu who, he claimed, had never been convicted by any court of law, either in Nigeria or abroad.

But  the AIT’s counsel,  Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), in his response, insisted that the applicant’s application would not in any way be prejudiced, if the court chose not to make an order stopping the broadcast.

Ozekhome, however, told the court that the station  had since stopped the broadcast of the documentary immediately after Asiwaju Tinubu instituted the suit.

Ozekhome contended that the issues contained in the documentary were already public knowledge as several websites had already published similar facts.

Moreover, he noted that since Asiwaju Tinubu had already demanded for N150billion as compensation which is the worth of his purported damaged integrity, it would not be wise to grant his prayer for an interlocutory injunction, restraining the AIT from further broadcasting the documentary.

After hearing the arguments of both parties, Justice Akinkugbe adjourned the matter till  April 1 for ruling.