Lagos — These are certainly difficult times for Olabode George, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and former Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authorities (NPA). In fact, since he literally kissed the canvass on October 26, 2009, following his conviction and imprisonment on account of corruption, he has virtually been putting every foot in the negative direction.

George was on October 26, 2009 sentenced to 28 years imprisonment without an option of fine by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos over allegation of fraud at the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, alongside five other persons. The sentence is however to run two years concurrently. George's efforts ever since to secure bail while appealing his conviction, have not yielded fruits. He has since been behind bars.

Yet, reprieve seems far from him as he lost again in the libel suit he slammed against Independent Newspapers Limited (INL), publishers of Daily Independent and Independent Network Communication Limited (INCL), publishers of The NEWS magazine and PM NEWS. This followed the ruling of Justice Akeem Oshodi of the Lagos High Court, sitting in Badagry, on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, which dismissed the suit on the ground that the former NPA chairman cannot claim damages for a reputation he does not possess.


Oshodi did not stop at that. He argued that since George had earlier been convicted by a Lagos High Court judge on the same facts on which he claimed that his reputation was damaged, it would be inappropriate to grant him damages on those facts.

"The court notes through the submission of the defendant that the claimant had been convicted and sentenced to two years without an option of fine on the same facts which he alleged libel. A man cannot lay claim to a reputation that he never had.

All the witnesses called by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain could not adequately prove to the court that he was libeled by the media reports brought before the court as evidence. As such this case fails in its entirety," the court held.

However, counsel to George, Bambo Adesanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that the judgment which convicted his client was not relevant to the libel suit as it did not exist as at the time the case was instituted.


But defence counsel, Femi Falana, argued on the contrary, insisting that the newspapers were justified in their reports since the same report was further confirmed by a Lagos High Court that convicted the claimant on the report complained of in the libel suit. Incidentally, it was on the basis of this allegation which saw the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), taking him to court, to answer questions on the charges that made George file a N2.5billion libel suit against Daily Independent newspapers and Independent Network Communications, Publishers of THE NEWS magazine and PM NEWS over reporting the fraud.

Remarkably, the judgement on the libel suit has continued to draw reactions from informed minds. Constitutional lawyer and rights activist, Fred Agbaje, for instance, sees the court's decision as logical in its entirety. To Agbaje, "Olabode George has no reputation to protect having been found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction."

George is not a stranger to Nigeria's public arena. He was the immediate past Deputy National Vice Chairman (South) of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

A retired Commodore of the Nigerian Navy, he was born on November 21, 1945 in Lagos. Between 1988 and 1990, he served as military governor of Ondo State. He became Principal Staff Officer to General Oladipo Diya, former Chief of General Staff, between 1993 and 1997. George was also a Director at the Nigerian National War College (NWC). He was appointed Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority in 1999, and in 2001, the former NPA boss was made the PDP's National vice-chairman for the southwest zone. Later he became National Deputy Chairman of the PDP.