MFM founder reportedly drags Sowore, Sahara Reporters to court, demands N10bn damages

macfranc007 September 03, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 David Oladele

- The general overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, Daniel Olukoya, has dragged Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, to court over what he called malicious articles

- Olukoya said despite his complaint against the articles, the publisher of the Sahara Reporters continued to publish offending stories about him and his church

- The founder of the church, however, demanded for N10 billion in damages from the publisher

Daniel Olukoya, the general overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, has filed a libel suit before Akwa Ibom state high court in Uyo against the publisher of an online medium, Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, seeking N10 billion in damages.

According to The Punch, in the suit filed, Olukoya said he was restrained to take legal action against Sowore, and the Incorporated Trustees of Sahara Media Foundation for their alleged failure to desist from publishing false articles against him and his church MFM since 2013.

The founder of the church also disclosed that he complained against the articles, the publisher of the Sahara Reporters still continued to publish offending stories about him and his church.

Olukoya maintained that he had earlier called on the publisher to pull down all the offending stories against him and his church within seven days but Omoyele and his platform refused.

He said having failed to take advantage of the seven days he gave them, he had no other option but to sue them.

Apart from the N10bn damages, the cleric and his church are praying the court to order the defendants to “pull down and erase each of the offending stories from the Internet forthwith.”

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It was learnt that he also want the court to compel Sowore and Sahara Reporters to “tender a written apology and retraction, published prominently in their online news report and in at least three nationally circulating newspapers and two international magazines, including TIME International.”

The claimants are also praying for an order of perpetual injunction, “restraining the defendants by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or other persons, howsoever called or described from further publishing and/or disseminating libellous stories and statements against the claimants.”

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that a court in the US ruled in favour of Nigerian Pentecostal church, MFM, in a property and monetary dispute with former members of its American branch.

In an action filed in September 2017 before the Circuit Court for Princes County in Maryland, USA, (Case No. CAL 616-26532) by MFMM International, Lagos, and MFMM Nevada, the church had sought declaratory judgment and damages against one Pastor Lawrence Adetunji, his wife, Ronke, and 11 other former members of the church in Bowie, Maryland.

The filing of the suit was exclusively reported by Sahara Reporters last year. Vanguard reports that equally joined as defendants in the suit was Christ the Truth Ministries (CTM), founded by the former members to succeed the Bowie branch of MFMM.

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