An Enugu High Court presided over Justice E. M Egumgbe has awarded two million, five hundred thousand naira cost against four doctors working with Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu for defamation.
The court ordered the doctors, Ubochi Vincent, Unaogu Ngozi, Justin Acho and Ugwuonye Onyekachi who are the defendants in the defamation case brought before it by the plaintiff, Afam Ndu, to pay the money to the plantiff after proving that their allegations amounted to defamation.
The defendants (Ubochi Vincent, Unaogu Ngozi, Justin Acho and Ugwuonye Onyekachi), had accused the plaintiff of rape, murder and possession of fake certicates, a development that made him to approach the court in 2017 seeking for redress, and damage of 20 million naira.
But, after listening to the arguments of both counsels, justice Egumgbe noted that both the plaintiff and defendants agreed that there was a petition by the defendant against the plaintiff to ministry of health under which both are working.
She ruled that the allegations were malicious and made in bad faith and were therefore defamatory in nature.
She equally held that the interim report from the panel set up by the ministry of health to investigate the plaintiff has at today exonerated the plaintiff, adding that there is no evidence that the plaintiff has been convicted of rape and murder in any court.
She therefore declared that the allegations of rape, murder, possession of fake certicates by the defendants amounted to defamation.
The court ordered the defendants to retract the defamatory publication and publish same in a National Newspaper within 30 days with effect from the day of the judgment on the case.
It further restrained the defendants of their agents from further publication of the defamatory allegations against the plaintiff.
Reacting to the judgment, Ndu said he felt so relieved in the sense that people that should be held in high esteem made the allegations, adding that Daniel has come to judgement.
Counsel to the plaintiff, I.O Adani commended the judgement, pointing out the defendants could not substantiate all their allegations against his client.