After my tenure, I hope to enjoy life with damages from those I’ve sued for libel- Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says he hopes to retire to a comfortable life sustained by damages from suits filed against some people who have allegedly committed libel against him.

He said this on Wednesday at the third Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN) conference in Abuja.

Osinbajo said the best way anyone could seek redress to damages is through a judicial process.

“I think that the important thing is that we have a system that ensure that if such a thing happens, the judicial process is open, such that you can go through the judicial process to seek redress. I think it is important to follow through the judicial processes to seek redress,” he said.

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“For example, a person is detained illegally and there are thousands of cases on that, after the detention you will go to court and ask for damages and make sure that you follow through. Most people after detention, they just do a thanksgiving service and they continue their lives.

“What we should do is to hold the authorities responsible. I have appeared in several cases of people who have been harassed by the police. The way we have been able to check executive excesses anywhere in the world is by holding them to account through the judiciary. Once people see that they are held account to the judiciary – it may take a while but it is still worth the trouble.

“Similarly also those of us who are on the receiving end of good and bad comments have a right to contest those things in court.

“For example I have three or four cases in court now, I have sued certain individuals for libel, I’m hoping that when I finally leave this job, I will retire to a fairly comfortable life after getting damages from some individuals who have taken the liberty to libel me.”

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