Defamation: Oil industry group demands justice for Wabote

Sopuruchi Onwuka

An association of indigenous petroleum players in the country have risen in support of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Wabote, in his demand for justice over defamatory publication by an online medium.

The support coming from the Nigerian Oil and Gas Indigenous Operators Association (NOGIOA) weighs against the perceived misrepresentation of court proceedings in some online publications insinuating that Engr Wabote might shake the political table in Nigeria with his suit.

The group decried as false a report by some online media platforms that a US Court has subpoenaed President Muhammadu Buhari alongside other prominent members of his government in the ongoing defamation case between Engr Wabote and the publisher of pointblanknews.com, Mr Jackson Ude, in a US Court.

Chairman of NOGIOA, Galadima Auwal, said in a statement made available to The Oracle Today that the resort to false claims in some of the publications by few local online mediums in the country is a cheap tactic by the defendant in the case to escape the strong arm of the US legal system.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the group noted that follow up publications by the online mediums that a US Court has issued a subpoena on President Buhari, his Secretary to the government and Engr. Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and other senior Nigerian government officials to testify in the defamation suit filed by Engr. Wabote without verifying key substances of the case is most unprofessional and misleading.

The group noted that the said publication tended to create the misleading impression that “the table has turned against Mr. Wabote, the plaintiff.”

The group also condemned as unprofessional publication of vexatious reports in a matter that is still subjudice, saying that such publications are meat to sway opinions in the case.

It accused plaintiffs in the US case of leading a campaign of calumny against Engr Wabote “instead of facing squarely the case in court by producing evidence to prove the accusation of bribe-taking which is made against Mr. Wabote in the article for which he was sued.”

NOGIOA stated that the misleading reports are designed to distort the truth and truncate the legal process in a diversionary tactic to evade justice. 

“For the avoidance of doubts, we are aware that Mr. Wabote has categorically stated that he does not operate any foreign account and there is no evidence to the contrary, the group stated, adding that people making allegations to the contrary carry the onus of proof.

The Oracle Today learnt that Engr Wabote had in May 2021, instituted a lawsuit in the US State of Pennsylvania against the Jackson Ude for defaming his character through an online article accusing Mr. Wabote of taking a bribe for the award of the EPC contract for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project.

Mr. Wabote said the suit was to seek legal redress, vindicate himself and preserve his hard-earned reputation.

According to NOGIOA, the case has since progressed and suffered all manner of legal tricks, including filing counterclaims, questioning the court’s jurisdiction, even the law under which the action was filed, the issue of forum convenience, and whether the US Court was the proper venue to hear the case.

The group alleged that the defendant had urged the court to return the matter to Nigeria in failed attempt to get the case dismissed in the United States. It added that the record of proceedings that opinions and orders made by the United States District Court Judge, Honorable Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. in October 21, 2021 had denied the defendant’s  request to dismiss the case against him, request to send the case to Nigeria and counterclaims against Engr Wabote.

The court held that Engr Wabote’s suit seeking redress was adequate.

In a separate order on November 24, 2021, according to the statement by NOGIOA, Honorable Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. overruled the defendant’s objections to discovery and ordered him to answer Mr. Wabote’s rightful questions and requests for documents.

The judge also ruled in favor of Wabote and ordered that any personal banking records of Mr. Wabote be treated as confidential in the case and not shared outside of the litigation. It also ordered that that the defendant would be subject to contempt proceedings if he fails to comply with his obligations.

And in another order of December 1, 2021, according to NOGIOA, the same Honorable Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. overruled the defendant’s attempt to hold in-person depositions in the US and ruled in favour of Mr. Wabote doing his deposition by remote video conference from Nigeria.

NOGIOA stated that the US court had so far dismissed all of the defendant’s requests because they lacked merit, noting that the defendant has lost all claims he advanced in the court to frustrate the suit by Engr Wabote.

The group which claims to be following the case also pointed out that the US had also dismissed claims that the suit was meant to harass the defendant and cause him financial losses and hurt him emotionally.

On the issue of subpoenas being issued in the case, the group noted that such invitation to testify and produce documents is a normal adjudicatory process and does not amount to a victory for which a party to a lawsuit would gloat about or celebrate.

“Any party to a US litigation has the right to issue subpoenas,” it stated.

NOGIOA pointed out that the most recent publication on the case was an extension of the ongoing media war and smear campaign by the defendant against Mr. Wabote to exacerbate already weighty allegation of defamation of character.

The group assured the public that “Mr. Wabote will pursue the lawsuit to its logical conclusion in order for Ude to be held accountable for his wrongful conduct.”

It further called on the media practitioners, especially the online news platforms, to remain professional even in the face of pressure by bad elements in the profession to destroy the hard-earned positive reputation of the journalism profession.

The Oracle Today reports that the NCDMB is a regulatory body ensuring that players in the Nigerian petroleum industry do no export jobs in areas where capacity exists in-country. The agency liaises with project promoters to evolve Nigerian Content Plan that determines aspects of the jobs that would be executed locally.

The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited is a gas processing and export company in which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its multinational partners including Shell, Total and Eni partner in an incorporated joint venture.

The NLNG is operated by Shell under a broad governance structure in which joint venture partners are adequately represented in decision making. The company is ranked a global company with one of the most transparent and efficient operating processes in Africa.

The Train-7 project of the NLNG rang a global bell, attracting bids from renowned and eminent global technology providers who went through rigorous processes to compete for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.