by crossriverwatch admin
Cross River lawyer and Civil Society Activist, Okoi Obono-Obla has sued the Leadership Newspaper and one of its Columnist, Timi Frank in the Federal High Court, Abuja for plagiarizing his literary work.
In Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/519/2014 filed in the registry of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the Plaintiff averred in his Statement of Claim that , Timi Frank, a Columnist with the Leadership Newspaper in his article “This President Endorses Corruption” in the Leadership Newspaper of 26th June, 2014 copied or lifted his literary work titled “Withdrawal of Charges Against Mohammed Abacha by the Attorney General is Outrageous” published in an online new agency, elombah.com and his face book account on the 19th June, 2014 without his consent.
The Plaintiff avers further that the Defendants copied or cloned or published or lifted structurally and contextually verbatim the Plaintiff’s literary work or article titled “Withdrawal of Charges against Mohammed Abacha by the Attorney General of the Federation Outrageous” without the consent or permission or authorization of the Plaintiff.
Consequently, the Plaintiff prayed the Federal High Court to grant him the following reliefs thus:
i.A Declaration that Copyright subsists in the article titled “Withdrawal of Charges against Mohammed Abacha by the Attorney General of the Federation Outrageous “written or made and/or produced by the Plaintiff in this case published in online news agency-Elombah.com and on the time line of his face book account which the 1st Defendant copied in his article titled “This President Endorses Corruption” published in the Leadership Newspaper of Wednesday the 24th June, 2014.
ii.A declaration that the publication of the Plaintiff’s article “titled “Withdrawal of Charges against Mohammed Abacha by the Attorney General of the Federation Outrageous“ by the Defendants without the consent or authorization of the Plaintiff constitutes an infringement of the Copyright of the Plaintiff in the said article.
iii.The sum of Twenty Million Naira (N20, 000,000.00) against the Defendants as general damages and aggravated or exemplary damages for infringing the Plaintiff’s Copyright in the said article and conversion of same.
iv.An ORDER of Perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd Defendant either by itself, its Agents, Employees, Servants or otherwise howsoever, from publishing and producing or causing to be published and produced, titled “Withdrawal of Charges against Mohammed Abacha by the Attorney General of the Federation Outrageous “or otherwise interfering with the Plaintiff’s Copyright without the prior written consent and authorization of the Plaintiff.
v. And such further or other reliefs as this Honorable Court may deem fit to grant in this circumstance.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.
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