The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) has filed a suit against Sahara Reporters, an online media platform, its publisher Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters Media Foundation over a series of alleged false, malicious and defamatory publications against the church and its General Overseer, Dr. Daniel Olukoya.
In the suit No HU/250/2018 pending before the High Court of Akwa Ibom State, Uyo Judicial Division, the claimants are demanding N10bn as damages and retraction of the publications.
The retraction, according to the church, should be a written apology in Sahara Reporters online platform, three nationally circulating newspapers and two internationally circulating magazines, one of which must be the TIME International.
The MFM also requested the court to direct Sahara Reporters to pull down and erase from the world-wide-web each of the offending stories published between 2013 and June 30th, 2018.
In addition, the claimants demanded perpetual injunction restraining the “defendants by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or other persons howsoever called or described from further publishing and disseminating libelous stories and statements against the Claimants or any of them.”
The Counsel, Barr. Ime Asanga said the church was constrained to take legal action following the intransigence of Omoleye Soleye and his co-defendants in refusing to desist from publishing false and malicious articles against the MFM over the stated period.
Asanga also disclosed that the defendants turned down the opportunity for a peaceful resolution when they failed to take advantage of a seven-day window offered them to retract the offending publications.
