Nnamdi Kanu files N60 billion defamation suit against Reno Omokri

Detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a N60 billion lawsuit against social commentator Reno Omokri, accusing him of publishing defamatory and prejudicial statements.

The suit, instituted on 31 July at the Enugu State High Court, was filed by Mr Kanu on behalf of himself and IPOB. Mr Omokri is named as the sole defendant.

According to court documents obrained by Premium Times, Mr Kanu, who is currently standing trial for terrorism at the Federal High Court in Abuja, claimed that Mr Omokri falsely linked him and IPOB to violent attacks and killings in the South-east.

He stated through his lawyer, P.N. Agazie, that a pre-action notice was served to Mr Omokri on 10 July 2025, requesting a retraction, a public apology in two national dailies, and a written undertaking to desist from further publication of such claims. The suit followed Mr Omokri’s failure to respond.

The IPOB leader cited a 6 July 2025 post on Mr Omokri’s X (formerly Twitter) handle, in which the defendant allegedly accused him and IPOB of being behind the killings of security personnel and the activities of “unknown gunmen” in the region. He said Mr Omokri also claimed that IPOB’s Eastern Security Network (ESN) was engaged in terrorist acts.

“The said statements are false, baseless, prejudicial, and defamatory, as they portray the plaintiff as a criminal and a terrorist, thereby injuring his reputation, character, exposing him to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, and prejudicing his ongoing judicial proceedings…at the Federal High Court Abuja,” Mr Kanu said.

He maintained that no Nigerian court has convicted him of terrorism or murder of security personnel.

“The defendant’s publication constitutes prejudicial commentary on the plaintiff’s pending judicial proceedings, amounting to contempt of court and a violation of the plaintiff’s right to a fair hearing and presumption of innocence under Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” he stated.

Mr Kanu is seeking N50 billion in general damages for harm to his reputation and emotional distress, as well as N10 billion in aggravated damages for what he described as a malicious and reckless publication.

He also asked the court to order Mr Omokri to issue a retraction within seven days of judgment in two national dailies and on his X handle, alongside a public apology acknowledging the misrepresentation of facts.

Additionally, Mr Kanu requested a perpetual injunction restraining Mr Omokri, his agents, and associates from further disseminating the said defamatory content.

The court has not yet fixed a date for the hearing of the case.

Mr Kanu was extradited from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 under controversial circumstances and has since been on trial for terrorism-related charges. His group, IPOB, which advocates for an independent Biafran state from Nigeria’s South-east and South-south regions, has been accused of orchestrating deadly attacks — allegations the group has consistently denied.

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