(L-R) Dr. Wiebe Boer, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; His Excellency John Kufuor, former president of Ghana and Mr. Tony Elumelu, founder, Elumelu Foundation, during the executive media launch of the foundation in Lagos.

WHILE Oceanic Bank International Plc is intensifying effort to extricate itself from the custody of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it is currently facing another storm as Dr Oviemo Ovadje, a retired army brigadier-general and award-winning medical practitioner, recently slammed  N1.015 billion suit against it for alleged defamation of his person and integrity.
Apart from the disagreements over the claimant’s transactions with the bank, he is particularly feeling highly disparaged because of comments allegedly made by the prosecuting officers over his professional integrity and the future of his career as a medical doctor. In his statement of claim, Ovadje stated that the defendants jointly and severally defamed him by uttering statements, deposing to them and contriving publication of same in newspaper format as well as online publication, stating further that the said publications greatly diminished his integrity, personality and image which took him many decades to build.
Stating particulars of the alleged defamation, the retired army officer asserted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) (3rd defendant) had through its officer Aliyu Wali (4th defendant) sworn an oath before the Commissioner for Oaths of the Federal High Court, deposing that the managing director of the bank, John Aboh (2nd defendant) had stated that he (Ovadje) was one of the beneficiaries of the economic crime of granting loans; that he applied for and was granted a loan by the bank in 2007 and same was not performing; that in order to mask the nature of the loan and its non-performance, the loan was passed to the subsidiary of the bank, Oceanic Homes Savings and Loans Limited where the former managing director of Oceanic Bank was the chairman.
 Ovadje contended that Mr. Aboh defamed him by uttering malicious, untrue and damaging statements about him to Aliyu Wali who believed him and swore on oath about his belief of same on January 26, 2010.
The retired army general who engaged in medical practice and ventured into the real estate and property development business after his retirement, disclosed that he has been a personal consultant to Michael Ibru for many years, adding that by extension, he became the family Physician and began to manage the health of the entire family, including Mrs. Cecilia Ibru’s. Consequently, he is claiming against the defendants the sums of N500 million as special damages for loss of economic earnings; N500 million as exemplary damages for the injury inflicted on his person; N10 million as general damages for defamation and N5 million as the cost of instituting the action.  Besides, he prayed the court to restrain the defendants, their agents, servants and privies from further defaming him in any manner whatsoever and howsoever.