Court Awards FCMB to Pay Prophet Omale N540m in Damages for Libel

In a recent ruling, the Court of Appeal, Abuja, has ordered First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to pay the sum of N540 million in damages awarded against it for alleged defamation of Prophet Emmanuel Omale and his wife, Deborah.

Daily Global News reports that Justice Yusuf Halilu of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had, in a judgment on Oct. 4, 2022, awarded the sum against the bank.

Justice Halilu held that FCMB recklessly breached the duty of care it owed to Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, his wife, and the church.

The judge agreed that FCMB made a false claim that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, paid N573 million to the church’s account.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal, in a ruling on Feb. 1, rejected FCMB’s request for a stay of execution of the judgment pending the determination of its appeal, as prayed in a motion on notice it filed.

Instead, a three-member panel presided over by Justice Muhammed Shuaibu granted a conditional stay of the execution of the judgment by ordering FCMB to pay the judgment sum of N540 million into an interest-yielding account in the name of the court’s chief registrar.

In an enrolled copy of the ruling sighted on Sunday, the appellate court said: “The application is granted as prayed in terms of the first prayer in the appellant’s motion filed on March 3, 2022.

“Consequently, a conditional stay of execution of the judgment is hereby granted to the appellant.”

According to the appellate court, the condition is that the judgment sum shall be deposited into an interest-yielding bank account of the court to be opened by the chief registrar of this court within 48 hours of the grant of this order.

The panel then adjourned further hearing till a date to be communicated to parties by the court’s registry.

The conditional stay granted by the Court of Appeal was alternatively conceded by the respondents; Omale, his wife, and the church, in their counter affidavit to the appellant’s motion, which they had actually sought to be dismissed.

Daily Global News reports that the Oct. 4 judgment by Justice Halilu was on a defamation suit marked: FCT/HC/CV2541/2020 filed by Omale, his wife, and the church against FCMB.

During the investigation of Magu by the Justice Isa Salami-led presidential investigation panel, it was reported that an investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) revealed that the ex-EFCC chairman paid N573 million into Omale’s church’s account with which a property was allegedly bought in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Justice Halilu, in the judgment, noted that evidence before his court showed that FCMB admitted error in its report to the NFIU of entries in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry’s account.

The judge further noted that FCMB claimed that the purported N573 million was wrongly reflected as a credit entry in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry’s account by its reporting system, which it recently upgraded.

The judge noted that FCMB admitted the error, which occasioned incalculable damage to the reputation of the claimants both within and outside the country.

He held that the claimants provided sufficient evidence to establish a case of negligence against FCMB.

Justice Halilu proceeded to award N200 million as aggravated damages; N140,500,000 as specific damages, and N200 million as general damages.