Court orders substituted service on Wike in Tonye Cole’s N40bn ‘defamation’ suit

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court sitting in Gwarinpa, Abuja, has ordered that Nyesom Wike be served with processes in a N40 billion defamation suit filed by Tonye Cole, former governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, via substituted means.

M.A. Hassan, presiding judge, gave the order on Tuesday while ruling on an ex parte application moved by Jibrin Okutepa, counsel to Cole.

Okutepa explained that his team has not been able to serve the court summons on Wike, minister of the FCT, and prayed that the court permit the plaintiff to serve the documents through substituted service.

The judge granted the application and specifically ordered that the applicant should paste the writ of summons, statement of claims, witness statement on oath, hearing notice and all other court documents on the gate of FCT Administration headquarters in Garki, Abuja.

The judge thereafter fixed March 24 and 25, 2026, for hearing in the suit.

The suit marked CV/4502/25 has Wike and Channels Incorporated Limited, owners of Channels Television, as defendants.

The action was initiated after Wike and Channels Television allegedly failed to comply with a pre-action notice and a letter of demand dated October 8.

Cole is seeking N40 billion in damages over comments made by Wike during a live interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on September 18.

The claimant said the statements were false and malicious, adding that they damaged his reputation in personal, professional, and public spheres.

In his statement of claim, Cole said Wike alleged that he “crippled the resources” of Rivers along with Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of the state, taking over public property, including the Olympia Hotel, among many others.

He accused Channels Television of broadcasting and republishing the remarks without due diligence.

Cole said the allegations contradict his reputation as a global business leader and philanthropist.

Consequently, he is seeking a declaration of the court that the statements made by Wike “are false, malicious, offensive, and defamatory” and were calculated and intended to disparage “his personal, professional, and public capacity”.

He is asking the court to compel the defendants to retract in full the alleged defamatory publications and broadcasts disseminated across various online and media platforms.

Cole also wants the court to order that every copy, clip, or rebroadcast of the said material be permanently removed from all such platforms.

In addition, he is praying for an order directing the defendants to issue and circulate a press statement acknowledging the falsity and impropriety of the defamatory statements and to give the retraction the same level of prominence, visibility, and duration as the original broadcast and publications.

The claimant further seeks an order compelling the defendants to tender an unreserved and public apology to him through a live broadcast on Channels TV Politics Today, as well as through publication in not fewer than five national daily newspapers with wide circulation.

He is also asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, and associates from publishing or disseminating any further defamatory material or statements about him.

In addition to these orders, the claimant is demanding N40 billion in general damages and N500 million in litigation costs.