Nigerian Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, has directed his legal counsels to withdraw all defamation suits he had instituted against some persons in the law courts.
He gave the directive after becoming moved by the New Year Mass sermon he heard from a Catholic priest at the Sacred Heart Parish in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state on Thursday, January 1 morning.
Speaking after the mass, Akpabio told the congregants that he had filed nearly nine lawsuits against individuals he accused of defaming him but will withdraw them now following the message he just heard from the priest.
He said: “I had almost nine cases in court against some individuals who defamed me, who lied against me, who slandered my name.
“But I listened to the priest and suddenly realised he was talking to me, so I hereby direct my solicitor to withdraw all lawsuits against them.”
With the directive, the Senate President has brought to an end all pending defamation-related legal actions, signalling a gesture of reconciliation and a fresh start at the beginning of the new year.
Akpabio’s decision to withdraw all pending defamation suits comes against the backdrop of a series of highly publicised legal and political disputes involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, which had drawn national attention and intensified debates around free speech, gender, power and accountability within Nigeria’s political space.
Photo: The Sun Nigeria