Innoson Nig. Ltd., a local car manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit against Guaranty Trust Bank for character assassination and defamation.
The company together with its founder, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, took the matter to a High Court sitting in Abuja and are demanding N400bn as damages for injury to their reputation, moral character, credibility, office, vocation and trade.
They also seek an order of perpetual injunction restraining GTBank from further defaming them.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the counsel to Chukwuma, Prof. Joseph Mbadugha, is sequel to a recent decision by the Supreme Court in favour of Innoson Nigeria Ltd. on May 12, 2017, where an application by the financial institution was dismissed.
A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, had on July 29, 2011, ordered the bank to pay N2bn to the car manufacturer but appealed against the judgment.
The appellate court in the state upholding the verdict of the lower court, on February 6, 2014, mandated the financial institution to pay the said sum to Innoson.
Unsatisfied by the ruling, GTBank sought relief at the Supreme Court but its application was dismissed.
In the fresh suit filed, the car manufacturer and Chukwuma maintained that claims by GTBank that it obtained the Court of Appeal judgment by fraud and fraudulent suppression of the fact that the company was paid the sum of N1, 406,515,845.98 in final liquidation of the judgment debt, implies that both parties were dubious, dishonest, dishonorable, and untrustworthy among other things.
Apart from the N400bn damages demanded, Innoson and Chukwuma are asking that the published words be retracted by the defendant with an apology published in two national dailies.
