– Joins Newspaper
After several unfulfilled threats to initiate legal action against Nigeria Watchdog Newspaper for publishing reports about the controversial marital conflict between him and his wife, the member for Orlu State Assembly in the Imo State House of Assembly Hon Ikenna Ihezuo, has finally joined the newspaper outfit as a respondent in a suit he filed against his enstranged wife at a High Court sitting at Orlu in Orlu LGA.
Ihezuo, in the suit marked HOR/./2025 between Hon Barr Ikenna Martin Ihezuo as Plaintiff and Akachi Orlu, Barr G.C. Opara, Precious Nwadike, and Spectacular Publishing Ltd, Publishers of Nigeria Watchdog Newspaper as Defendants, stated that, “I, Hon. Barr. Ikenna Martin Ihezuo, Esq., Adult, Male, Christian and Nigerian citizen of plot 124 Housing Area V, Owerri, Imo State do hereby make oath and states as follows, that:
1. I am a Nigerian citizen residing at from Orlu, Imo State, a Legal Practitioner duly called to the Nigerian Bar and the Honourable Member representing Orlu State Constituency in the Imo House of Assembly.
2. That the first Defendant is a mother of my children, who was never married to me.
3. That the 2nd Defendant is a legal Practitioner who represented the 3rd Defendant in the Election tribunal against me both at the High Court and at the Court of Appeal and now a lawyer to my Children’s mother.
4. The 3rd Defendant is the publisher and Chief Editor of watchdog newspaper, who contested the election with me to the office of member representing Orlu state constituency which I clearly won him in the election, but has continuously used his newspaper to publish defamatory statements and tarnish my image since the conclusion of the election.
5. The 4th defendant is a company duly registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission and the publishers of Watchdog Newspaper owned by Precious Nwadike, the 3rd Defendant with wide circulation in Imo State and Nigeria.
6. I state that I hail from Umuduraku Eziachi, Orlu where I was born and raised up. I later travelled to the United States where I got married, lived with my wife and raised our grown up children before returning to Nigeria in 2009.
7. I aver that on May 1, 2025 the Defendants published a story on the front page of their newspaper known as Nigeria watchdog titled “Imo Lawmaker in another marriage scandal as wife seeks custody of children.
8. That in the newspaper publication, the defendant claimed that I habitually married other women, sucks their best years out of them and throws them out of the marriage.
9. This statement in this publication is untrue and highly defamatory and slanderous against me. A copy of the said Newspaper is hereby attached and marked as annexure 1.
10. I further aver that the 2nd and 3rd Defendants thereafter forwarded the story to different whatsapp platforms in Orlu LGA and in Imo State in general and throughout the Country and beyond. A copy of the publication as forwarded to some platforms is attached and marked as annexure 2.
11. I further aver that immediately the Defendants published these untrue and defamatory statements against me, my colleagues, friends, family members, Political allies and supporters started calling me and displayed displeasure on the negative attitude and how wayward these statements portrayed about me.
12. I further state that on May 6th, 2025, the defendants published yet another statement titled Alleged Marriage fraud: Orlu Lawmaker, Ihezuo drags Nigeria watchdog, Newspoint Newspapers to Court wherein the defendants published false information and prayers of the 1st Defendant against me in a matter pending before a High Court of Justice, and which veracity of the statements, claims and prayers of the 1st Defendant is yet to be determined by the court, hereby intentionally defaming me with the falsehood.
13. I further state that on May 9th, 2025, the defendants published again another statement titled Alleged Marriage fraud: Orlu Lawmaker, Ihezuo files counterclaim against wife, says children are his, mother not his wife.
14. As a result, the Defendants published false story against me including publishing my counter affidavit in a matter pending before a High Court of Justice, and which veracity of the statements, claims and prayers of the 1st Defendant is yet to be determined by the court, hereby interitionally defaming the Plaintiff with the falsehood.
15. I state that I do not know how the Defendants got this untrue and slanderous information about me, and wished that the defendants would have waited for the Court to determine the truth before publishing these statements.
Ihezuo further claimed that sequel to the above publications, his friends, admirers, well wisher, supporters and other associates including professional colleagues now hold him in very low esteem because he has been misrepresented as a selfish, callous, wicked, unreliable and fraudulent person who should be avoided. Hence, he is claiming the sum of one billion Naira as damages.
He further prayed the Court for an Order, “of this Honourable Court restraining the Defendants; their agents, privies or any other persons acting through or for them from further publishing any defamatory statements against the Plaintiff or any other statement geared towards tarnishing the person of the Plaintiff pending the determination of the substantive suit.
AN Award of Damages in the sum of ₩1,000,000,000.00 (One billion Naira) only for this untruthful, libellous and slanderous statement published against the Plaintiff and forwarded to so many other social media platforms and which was read by so many friends, family members, and supporters of the Plaintiff in Orlu LGA, Imo State and in Nigeria in general, and for anguish, pain and suffering occasioned thereby.
AN ORDER of the Honourable court directing the Defendants to write a letter of apology and retraction of the said slanderous and defamatory publications to the Plaintiff, publish same letter in the Defendant’s newspaper and all the Platforms, and to cause such apology and retraction to be published in at least two local newspapers in Imo State and one national newspaper with wide circulation in Nigeria.
The sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira) as the cost of this suit.
AND FOR such order or further order or reliefs as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.
This Writ was issued by Chike Ezekwere, ESQ., of I.I Martins & Associates, whose address for service is Plot 124, Housing Area V, New Owerri.
The most confusing part of his presentation is his claim that though the estranged woman had children for him but they are not legally married. But somehow, a picture of their traditional wedding ceremony where the bride gave him the symbolic wine which signifies acceptance and when he drank it and led the bride off the arena has surfaced in public domain eliciting public outcry” .
