A Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square has ordered On-Air Personality (OAP) Toke Makinwa to pay her estranged husband, Maje Ayida N1million for defamation.
Ayida, had in a suit filed at the court, alleged that Toke had published a book, “On Becoming”, made several defamatory statements against him, including words which portrayed him as a cold-hearted husband.
The book, published by Kachifo Ltd (second defendant in the suit), according to Ayida, also suggested he is a serial ‘cheat’, not fit and proper to work within the Health and Wellness Industry, or any related industry, having recklessly infected her with an STI and was and had been a carrier of venereal or sexually transmitted disease or diseases amongst other things.
Ayida also claimed that the book had enjoyed and continues to enjoy enormous readership and considerable circulation on platforms including Amazon, iTunes, and numerous bookshops such that it can be safely presumed that over three million people have read the book and/ or the sensationalized extracts from the book since its publication.
According to Ayida: “The defendants published, authorised the publication and/or caused to be published the words complained of, knowing they were false or reckless. In consequence, the claimant’s hard-earned reputation has been seriously damaged and the claimant has suffered considerable distress and embarrassment, including but not limited to several calls to the claimant by well-meaning Nigerians to request him to go for counselling, mental and marriage therapy sessions.
“By the afore-said publication, the claimant’s reputation has been greatly injured and his public profile has been brought into hatred, ridicule and contempt.”
He therefore prayed the court to order the defendants to pay him the sum of N100,000,000.00 as aggravated and/or exemplary damages.
In his ruling, Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi ordered Makinwa and Kachifo Ltd, the publisher of the book to each pay N500,000 to Ayida.
The judge also ordered the duo to pay the money to any charity organisation of Ayida’s choice and must also within 30 days of the judgment, expunge some portions of the book- “Page 54, Line 11-16 and Page 83, Line 1, which were identified as defamatory.