Former House of Representatives member, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, was advised by Justice Abdulfattah Lawal of the Lagos High to consider an out-of-court settlement of her N500million libel suit against Diamond Bank, Qed.ng can report.
Dabiri-Erewa had on August 6, 2015, dragged the bank to court for publishing her name among the list of chronic debtors who had refused to liquidate their debts.
The report, allegedly maliciously published by Punch, claimed that Dabiri-Erewa owed the bank about N122m.
Diamond Bank had published her picture as a Director of Thriller Endeavors.
The former, however, lawmaker swore she never heard of the company.
She insisted that the publication is false and it has subjected her to public ridicule and embarrassment.
In a suit filed before a Lagos High Court, sitting in Igbosere, Lagos Island, she also listed Punch Newspapers Limited as the second defendant.
When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday before Justice Lawal, counsel to Diamond Bank, Chuka Agbu SAN, told the court of the moves to settle the matter out of court.
He then urged the court to adjourn the matter to enable the parties conclude discussions on the process.
“The judge advised that all avenues be explored for settlement,” a reliable source close to the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media & Publicity told this online newspaper.
Given her commitment to dispute resolution, Dabiri-Erewa agreed to the option as advised by the judge.
The source dismissed a statement credited to Punch counsel, Clement Onwuenwunor, that the paper is not part of the settlement talks as it has indemnity from the bank for its publication.
“Punch is even more liable because advert is not news and all three parties are part of the talks.
“Part of the proposal however is that Punch must give the same kind of prominence it gave to the false information,” the source told our correspondent.
Speaking on Thursday, counsel representing Dabiri-Erewa, Ademola Fadipe, said they were optimistic that the settlement talks will be agreeable to all parties.
While desirous of an out of court settlement, the source concluded that “if terms are not agreeable by March 10, then the matter will go to full trial before Justice Lawal.”
