Ambassador Onoh files $21m defamation suit against Sahara Reporters
By Jeffrey Agbo
Ambassador Lilian Onoh, a veteran Nigerian diplomat, has sued Sahara Reporters and its chairwoman, LaKeisha Pierre, for more than $21 million in damages.
Initially, Onoh had filed against Sahara Reporters’ founder, Omoyele Sowore. But Sowore informed the court that as a Nigerian citizen, he could not be a party in a diversity case under US law. He further stated that he resigned from Sahara Reporters in 2017, leaving Pierre in charge. Pierre is also a partner in Emmeline Ventures, a venture capital firm with investments in Texas and other states.
The case underscores the challenges of holding digital media platforms accountable across borders. Serving the defendants has proven difficult: Sahara Reporters abandoned its registered New York office without leaving a forwarding address, while bailiffs attempting to serve papers at Pierre’s California residence were met with refusal. Onoh has therefore sought judicial approval to serve them electronically.
At stake is not just $21 million in damages, but also the broader issue of credibility in political reporting. Sowore testified that the damaging publication originated from Nigeria’s former Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama who he claimed concocted the report. Onyeama denied responsibility in his sworn testimony in Abuja High Court and placed blame on his Permanent Secretary, Gabriel Aduda.
Onoh is demanding a jury trial and punitive damages.
The high-profile defamation case filed in Texas is drawing attention to media collusion with Nigerian government officials to discredit and muzzle an ambassador who blew the whistle on a number of odious acts such as visa racketeering and embezzlement of millions of dollars of Red Cross funds meant for Haiti earthquake victims by Nigerian diplomats. She had alleged that Onyeama engaged Sahara Reporters to carry out a smear campaign to discredit her reports of staggering corruption and violations of the Vienna Convention by Nigerian diplomats.
The allegation of a government sponsored smear campaign is buttressed by the number of times Sahara Reporters has repeated publication of the alleged defamatory story that Sowore said he collected from Onyeama, which is about seven or eight times, according to court documents.
Onoh alleged that the actions of Onyeama, Aduda and Sowore violated the Global Magnitsky Act in a recent publication. The Act was passed in 2012 as a result of the fatal retaliation against Sergei Magnitsky for exposing corruption in Russia.
