Media War: The Sun condemns The Nation columnist for circulating libel suit on internet

THE SUN Publishing Limited yesterday reacted to a libel suit purportedly filed against it by Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation newspapers, Mr. Sam Omatseye, describing the circulation of the suit papers on the internet without serving it as “wrong practice.”
The suit allegedly filed by Festus Keyamo Chambers on behalf of Omatseye claimed that the latter was libelled in a story entitled: “Call Omatseye to order, Kalu tells Tinubu” and published in Daily Sun on October 13. Reacting to the circulating of the suit papers online, in a statement, General Counsel of The Sun Publishing Limited, Dr. Obinna Kalu, said it was un-fortunate that the company only became aware of the alleged court action through the internet.
The statement said: “The attention of the Management of The Sun Publishing Limited has been drawn to a suit circulating on the internet and purportedly before the Ikeja Division of the High Court of Lagos State filed against The Sun Publishing Limited by Mr. Festus Keyamo Chambers on behalf of Mr. Sam Omatseye as claimant. Ordinarily, we would have ignored the existence of the suit in the social media, but for our teaming readers and well-wishers, we found it necessary to state as follows:
“It is a wrong practice to file a suit in court against a person(s) and proceed to publish the pro¬cess of such suit on the internet without taking legal steps to serve the defendant of such process. The Sun Publishing Limited, which is the purported defendant in the suit, is yet to be served with the originating process of the Suit No: ID/ ADR/223/15.
“It is very pathetic that The Sun Publishing Limited had to learn of the existence of a suit against it in the social media when its offices are all over the country. We are aware that service of originating process or any other process of court is fundamental to the invocation of the jurisdiction of court, even as the object of all types of service of processes, whether personal or substituted, is to give notice to the other party on whom service is to be effected so that he can be aware of, and be able to resist if he may, that which is sought against him. See Odutola vs Kayode (1994) 2 (NWLR) PT 324. 1 at 21.”
The Sun, however, said it was ready to meet the alleged claimant in court any time it was served with the process. “We condemn the practice as made concerning the suit and completely stand and restate all that we had published and upon which the purported suit is predicated, even as we are eagerly awaiting the service of the said process on us,” the statement said.