On Friday, the Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency’s representative, Hon. Terseer Ugbor, filed a N1 billion defamation lawsuit against Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia in a Benue State High Court located in Makurdi.
Along with Mr. Tersoo Kula, the governor’s chief press secretary, and Isaac Uzaan, who is listed as the governor’s media assistant, are named in the action, which is marked MHC/422/2024.
Hon. Ugbor is requesting a court order compelling Kula, Uzaan, and Governor Alia to take down any and all publications and remarks that are disparaging of him from their Facebook accounts. In addition, he requests that these publications be taken down and that a public apology be made known on Facebook and other social media sites, as well as in at least five national newspapers.The congressman is also asking for a lifelong injunction to prevent the defendants, their representatives, or any affiliations from slandering him in the future.
Ugbor defined himself as a responsible representative committed to the welfare of his constituents in his statement of claim. He claimed to have written to the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on October 9 and 16, 2023, asking for palliative measures to assist those affected by assaults by herdsmen in the Moon, Yaav, Kumakwagh, and Mbadura Council Wards of the Kwande Local Government Area in Benue State. Ugbor submitted another letter to NEMA on May 8, 2024, demanding immediate assistance for victims in numerous wards of Kwande Local Government, as a result of the agency’s lack of response to the escalating humanitarian catastrophe. After a while, NEMA gave its approval and the relief goods were made available; the same day, Ugbor received a letter acknowledging receipt of them.
These letters are part of the evidence that his attorney, Dr. Emmanuel Agbakor, produced in the lawsuit.
Ugbor clarified that he made arrangements for the relief supplies to be shipped from NEMA’s warehouse in Jos to Makurdi on September 11, 2024, while he was attending to national responsibilities in the United States. The things were kept safe in a public storage until he returned to distribute them to the internally displaced people (IDPs) in his district.
Palliatives were stored at Culture Warehouse, 6E Wantor Kwange Street, Makurdi; invoices attesting to the payment for storage were attached.
Ugbor, however, said that Governor Alia had confiscated the car carrying the supplies for the rescue effort. Isaac Uzaan shared a false article on Facebook with the subject “RE: ALIA VOWS TO MAKE LIFE UNBEARABLE FOR IDPs IN KWANDE” after he voiced his worries.
Furthermore, on September 18, Mr. Kula reportedly defamed Ugbor on behalf of the governor in a press release headlined “Gov. ALIA HANDS OVER TRUCK OF DIVERTED RELIEF MATERIALS TO EFCC/ICPC” that was posted on his Facebook page.
In addition, Ugbor asserted that on September 18, 2024, Governor Alia made disparaging remarks in a video uploaded to the Fr. Alia TV Network. The video, which went viral on social media, called Ugbor a “dishonourable member” and accused him of stealing palliatives intended for IDPs in the Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency.
Ugbor’s action includes a request for a court order compelling Governor Alia, Kula, and Uzaan to provide him N1 billion in damages for defaming his name and character, in addition to additional relief.
The suit hearing has not yet been scheduled.
