Premiere Academy’s N500 Million Defamation Suit Against Dr. Lemmy Ughegbe Adjourned

An Abuja High Court has adjourned the suit filed by Premiere Academy against Dr. Lemmy Ughegbe, a child rights advocate, to November 12, 2024.

The school is seeking to stop Dr. Ughegbe from seeking justice for Keren-Happuch Akpagher, a 14-year-old student who was allegedly raped and died due to health complications.

Premiere Academy accused Dr. Ughegbe of defamation for referring to the school as “prime suspects” in the abuse and death of Keren-Happuch.
The school is claiming N500 million in damages and seeking a court order to bar Dr. Ughegbe from making further public statements about the case.

Dr. Ughegbe has been advocating for justice for Keren-Happuch and her family since her death in 2021.
He has spoken out against the school and the system’s failure to hold perpetrators accountable. The case has sparked widespread public outcry and calls for accountability.

The adjurnment followed the request made by counsel to Dr. Ughegbe, Barrister Johnbull Adaghe for an adjournment owing to earlier engagements fixed since June 2024 at the National Industrial Court. Hearing notice in the Premiere Academy case was served last Thursday, …October 2024.

The application for adjournment by defence counsel reads: We are counsel to the defendant in this suit, and in that stead, we write to pray for an adjournment of this suit coming up today, the 14th day of October, 2024, to another date. Today’s date incidentally coincides with our Suit No. NICN/ABJ/137/2023, Broad Hospitality Solutions Ltd & Anr vs Akoquip Global Resources Ltd, which has since June, 2024, been fixed for hearing before Court No. 2, of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.”

“Even as we regret any inconvenience this application may cause, we suggest that the suit be adjourned to any of the following dates, subject to the convenience of the court, that is: the 12th or 13th or 19th of November, 2024.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Olajide Olaleye-Kumuyi said “even though we got the request for adjournment late on our way to court, we will concede to it.

Accordingly, the Judge, Kayode Agunloye adjourned hearing to 12th November 2024.

Premiere Academy had accused Dr. Ughegbe of defamation for referring to the school as prime suspects in the abuse and subsequent death of 14-year-old Keren-Happuch Akpagher.

On the 22nd of June 2024, Keren died as a result of condom left inside her by a killer-rapist, which infected her with sepsis, spiked her blood sugar, being a diabetic, leading to her death from hyperglycemia.

It would be recalled that following disclosure by doctors at the hospital, Keren’s mother, Mrs Vivien Vihimga Akpagher had filed a complaint at the FCT Police Command, alleging that her child, a boarding student was raped in the school, which compromised her health, leading to death.
Since Keren’s demise, Ughegbe has been in the forefront of seeking justice for the deceased and her family.

Speaking as a panelists at the 2021 Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Ughegbe sought to rally lawyers to get involved in holding accountable the school, which he termed “prime suspects.”

Vexed by Ughegbe’s audacity to raise the issues at the NBA Law Week, the school decided to sue for defamation, claiming N500 Million as damages.

In the suit filed by Premiere Academy’s legal team headed by Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), which includes his wife, Chief (Mrs) Victoria Awomolo (SAN) and Eyitayo Fatogun (SAN) and w team of lawyers, the school is asking the court to bar the Child and Gender Rights Advocate (Ughegbe) from making further public statements with regards to the alleged rape and death of Keren-Happuch till further notice.

In the said suit, Premiere Academy argued that “if the court fails to bar Ughegbe, it (Premiere Academy, Lugbe) will suffer irreparable damage to its character.”

In a-26 paragraph affidavit deposed to by Mr Christopher Akinsowon, who was acting Principal of Premiere Academy before and after Keren died on 22nd of June 2021 and now the school’s Director of Academics and Administration, he complained about the speech delivered by the Coalition Leader at the NBA Abuja Branch (Unity Bar) 2021 Law Week while attending as a guest panellist.

He said the speech delivered by Ughegbe on 30th of August 2021 defamed Premiere Academy and that was the reason the school instructed its lawyers to sue him for defamation in other to stop him from further damaging its image.

In a paragraph, 17, Akinsowon averred thus: “That the respondent (Ughegbe) was seen and heard saying thus: “I seek to leave of Mr Chairman to adopt the protocol as haven been established and deem same as having been observed by yours truly. As it’s traditional for me since June 22nd, 2021, I seize every opportunity of a public forum to do one thing, one pledge that I made to the coalition of Gender-Based Violence Responders which I lead. “

On June 22nd, 2021, the inalienable right of 14-year-old Keren-Happuch Akpagher was taken away because she was raped, condom left inside of her, the condom eventually infected her with sepsis, which triggered her diabetic condition in such a bad way and we eventually lost her. And I have said that at every forum I get, I would spend, at least, two minutes talking about her. She was a boarding house student at Premiere Academy, Lugbe. We are talking Human Rights, so this is even auspicious. Unfortunately, we have issues with systems not being in place.

“If you followed the news very well all this while, you would find that at some point because the coalition said this is one Child Sexual Abuse that will not just be a mere data and we must get the perpetrator, unfortunately, the FCT Police Command misadvised and misdirected itself on this matter, to the point because we started talking and holding them to account, they decided to accuse me of inciting public disturbance.

“The primary suspect – Premiere Academy is allowed to speak and do press conferences, but someone licensed as a Gender and Child Rights Advocate is accused of that? We have fought it using the instrumentality of the media and because of that, we have put petitions in place and today we are making progress with that case and I urge lawyers to join in this effort because in the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu – “if you are neutral in the situation of injustice, then you have taken sides with the oppressor.”

When called by Journalists to respond to the defamation suit filed by the school against him, Ughegbe who could not contain his amusement as he laughed for over five minutes before responding thus: “I’m so sorry for laughing so hard and taking your time. Do they want to use cheap legal action to bully me into silence and breach my constitutional right to hold and express my opinion? Tell them they have made a wrong call and have failed. But this is really laughable. I am yet to receive the court process, but a friend of mine said he received it on my behalf.

“Their case is built primarily on my speech at the NBA Abuja Branch 2021 Law Week. They are unhappy that I am calling lawyers to join us to demand justice. What is defamatory about that?
“It is my considered view that this suit is not just frivolous and lacking in merit, but it is also vexatious and targeted at arm twisting me. But I will not be vexed because I understand their frustrations and therefore what I have for them is sympathy.

“Why will a school be unhappy and jittery that I am calling out stakeholders to join us to seek justice? Clear conscience should not be offended or saddened by my call. The school, more than anyone else, should even be eager to join us to invite scrutiny of its operation vis-à-vis Keren-Happuch.”

He also expressed his eagerness for the Investigative Panel of the House of Representatives to begin a public hearing on the matter, adding that “we shall open a gigantic can of worms. We have credible intelligence and the world will shudder at the revelations during the public hearing meant to commence in January 2022.”

Recall that following pressure from the coalition of activists led by Dr. Ughegbe and public outcry, on the 7th of December 2021, the House of Representatives ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to conduct a DNA test for all the male staff of the school and march DNA each with the dead spermatozoa found in Keren’s urine and resolved to set up an Investigative Panel to conduct a public hearing into the matter.

Sadly, the House headed by the then Speaker, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamilla failed to conduct any public hearing despite several correspondences from Men Against Rape Foundation and Amnesty International, reminding it of it’s own obligation.

Also, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which received the coalition’s petition, neither called for evidence from petitioners nor briefed them after it met with the school management on account of the petition. The same fate befell their petition at the FCT Social Development Secretariat.

Dr. Ughegbe is well documented to speak of systemic failure and conspiracy of silence and inaction by those who should take the needed steps.

END