Senator Buruji Kashamu (Ogun-East) has withdrawn a N20.1bn libel suit he instituted against former President Olusegun Obasanjo before a Federal Capital Territory court in Abuja.
Presiding judge, Justice Valentine Ashi, had struck out the suit on May 26, 2015, following the notice of discontinuance of the suit filed by the plaintiff.
Kashamu, reportedly hinged his decision on “an ongoing settlement talks” between him and Obasanjo.
Obasanjo’s lawyers, however, said they were not aware of such talks.
Kashamu had on February 6, 2014, sued Obasanjo for “maliciously and recklessly” publishing a letter titled, ‘Before it is too late,’ addressed to former President Goodluck Jonathan in December 2013.
He had asked the court to award him N20bn as aggravated and exemplary damages, and another N100m against Obasanjo for maliciously portraying him as a fugitive wanted for drug- related offences in the United States of America.
Kashamu had already called two of his three proposed witnesses before he decided to withdraw the suit.
On December 5, 2014, Kashamu moved the court to grant an order restraining Obasanjo from going ahead with the public presentation of his book, “My Watch.” Kashamu based prayer on the grounds that the book touched on the subject matter of the libel suit.
But Obasanjo had shunned the court order and went ahead to present the book in Lagos on December 9, 2014.
Kashamu then returned to court on December 10, to report that Obasanjo had flouted the December 5 court order.
Justice Ashi ruled that Obasanjo was in contempt of court for flouting his order and directed the various security agencies to seize the copies of the books wherever they were found.
The judge later lifted all orders against Obasanjo in a ruling delivered in April following counter arguments by Obasanjo’s lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN). .
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