Court orders ₦10m payout to Reps member for defamation

A State High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has ordered Chisom Achor to pay ₦10 million to Chinedu Ogah. Ogah is the representative for Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency. This ruling comes after a defamation suit filed by Ogah against Achor.

Justice Frankline Edem delivered the judgement. He ruled that videos posted by Achor on Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms from September to October 2025 were defamatory. The court found that the claims in these videos, shown as Exhibit P1, harmed Mr Ogah’s character and reputation.

A certified true copy of the judgement obtained by PREMIUM TIMES shows that the court instructed Achor to take down the posts. He must also issue a full apology on his Facebook and TikTok accounts within 30 days.

Justice Edem awarded ₦10 million as compensation for the damage to Ogah's reputation. This is much less than the ₦1 billion in general damages that Ogah originally requested. The court also issued a permanent injunction against Achor. He cannot publish any more defamatory statements about Ogah on any social media platform. Additionally, Achor must pay ₦200,000 in legal fees.

The judgement came after Achor did not file a statement of defence. He was personally served with the legal documents while in custody at a correctional centre in Enugu. Court records show that the writ of summons was served on 26 January 2026.

Even though Achor had a lawyer, Samuel Ede, during the court session on 31 March, the lawyer did not file any defence or show up in court later. A notice of hearing was sent, but neither Achor nor his lawyer attended the next hearing. Because of this, Justice Edem allowed Ogah to present his case without opposition. The verdict was given after listening to arguments from Ogah’s lawyer, Samson Ekigbo.