A former Minister of Overseas Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has closed his case in opposition to Mrs. Lilian Onoh, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Jamaica and Namibia, over allegations bordering on defamation.
Onyeama concluded his case on Friday after cross-examination earlier than Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya of a Federal Capital Territory Excessive Court docket at Zuba in Abuja on allegations of economic embezzlement at Nigerian embassies in Jamaica and Namibia.
The Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) reviews that the ex-minister, who served in the course of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, sued Onoh after the latter accused him of condoning large-scale corruption in Nigerian international missions. Onyeama alleged that Onoh, who was his sister-in-law, “sponsored” newspaper articles criticizing him on sordid points whereas he was Overseas Minister.
Onoh had raised the alarm that the sum of US$2.8 million was wasted from the US$5 million donations made by the Nigeria Crimson Cross to the victims of the lethal 2010 earthquake in Haiti by Nigerian diplomats in Jamaica.
The Nigerian Mission in Jamaica has been saddled with the duty of utilizing the $5 million donations to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe attributable to the earthquake within the Caribbean nation.
Earlier than arriving in Namibia as Nigeria's Excessive Commissioner, she had mentioned that about $600,000 had been embezzled by officers, together with the Namibian authorities's failure to pay VAT.
Whereas Onoh's lawyer, Monday Ejeh, was questioned on whether or not he investigated allegations of fraudulent monetary transactions in opposition to Nigerian diplomats by his consumer, Onyeama mentioned he took motion on each grievance obtained.
“I took motion in opposition to them by referring such points to the Everlasting Secretary (Federal Ministry of Overseas Affairs) and directing the investigation,” Onyeama mentioned.
Commenting on the problems in Jamaica and Namibia, he mentioned: “In relation to 2 main complaints referring to Jamaica and Namibia, I used to be knowledgeable that the issues had been handed on to the EFCC.”
He additional defined that the Everlasting Secretary was “in control of coping with monetary transactions and irregularities.” He mentioned the 2 instances Onoh delivered to his consideration have been about her predecessor and a few individuals in Namibia defrauding the Namibian authorities.
“In Jamaica, the problem concerned the embezzlement of funds meant to assist Haiti within the aftermath of the earthquake,” the spokesperson mentioned. He informed the courtroom that he was considering these two incidents due to their affect on Nigeria's bilateral relationship with Jamaica and Namibia.
“I went to the workplace of the Auditor Normal (of the Federation) and requested a complete audit of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs,” he mentioned.
When Ejeh requested in regards to the end result of the investigation into the crime, Onyeama's lawyer, Agada Elachi, SAN, objected. Decided to get a solution, Ejeh pressed additional asking whether or not the allegations have been true or false. Elachi objected to the query.
“These questions should not vital as a result of they don’t have anything to do with the problems at hand,” the lawyer mentioned, objecting to a number of different questions bordering on his consumer's position as international minister.
The objections have been upheld by the decide. Onyeama knowledgeable the courtroom that Onoh had “forwarded a number of media articles to his cellphone quantity.” The minister revealed that many individuals suggested her to 'chorus from the defamatory messages coming from social media', however she didn’t wish to pay attention.
“She wrote to me indicating that I used to be attempting to forestall sure media homes from publishing her defamatory articles,” Onyeama mentioned in his response to Ejeh’s question on how Onoh sponsored media homes to defame him.
After the cross-examination, the ex-minister knowledgeable the courtroom that he had accomplished his case in opposition to the accused. The decide then adjourned the case till February 12 in order that Onoh may start her protection within the lawsuit.
