Court Strikes Out Iyabo Ojo’s ₦1 Billion Defamation Suit Against Lizzy Anjorin

A Lagos High Court sitting in Osborne, Ikoyi, has dismissed a ₦1 billion defamation suit filed by Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, against her colleague, Lizzy Anjorin, citing procedural irregularities.

Naijaonpoint reports that the presiding judge, Justice Olabisi Akinlade, ruled that the suit was incompetent, citing fundamental flaws in the originating process.

The court subsequently awarded ₦500,000 in costs against Ojo’s lawyer, Olabimpe Ajegbomogun, in favour of Anjorin’s counsel, Barrister Ademola Olabiyi.

The case, with suit number LD/ADR/5292/2023, was filed by Ojo seeking ₦1 billion in damages for alleged defamation. However, defence counsel Olabiyi raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit did not adhere to mandatory pre-action protocols as stipulated by the Lagos State High Court Civil Procedure Rules.

A key issue identified was that the Form 01 Statement of Compliance accompanying the Writ of Summons was not signed by Ojo’s counsel. Olabiyi maintained that this omission rendered the suit invalid from the outset. Additionally, the Writ itself did not follow the prescribed court format and lacked proper endorsement of the reliefs sought.

The defence further submitted that several unsigned documents in the court file and the absence of a Certified True Copy (CTC) raised serious concerns about the authenticity of Ojo’s filings.

According to the defence, a search of the court file on April 2, 2024, revealed that the original Writ was not signed, and the version attached to Ojo’s counter-affidavit was merely an uncertified photocopy.

In response, Ojo’s legal team argued that the objections were purely technical and did not impact the substance of the case. The claimant maintained that the Writ was properly signed and that any deficiencies could be corrected with an amendment before the trial began.

Justice Akinlade, however, disagreed, holding that the failure to sign the original Writ at the time of filing constituted a fatal procedural error.

The judge noted that the certified copy retrieved by Anjorin’s counsel confirmed the Writ was unsigned at the time it was filed and assigned to the court.