Sola Oshunkeye at 70 — by Ismail Omipidan

Journalism brought us together, though I did not initially know we were both from Osun State. I only discovered he was my kinsman around 2009, when I was planning to sue Senator Grace Bent over allegations that I had collected money to defame her.

To refresh readers’ memory, Senator Bent had earlier dragged me and The Sun before an FCT High Court sitting in Kuje, presided over at the time by Justice Peter O. Affen. She sought N100 million in damages over an alleged libel. Senator Bent and her husband, a retired Army Major, Chief Bent, approached the court over a piece titled “Help, Female Senators Are Leading Us into Temptation,” published under the “Reps and Senators” column on page 11 of The Sunday Sun of February 24, 2008.

According to their statement of claim, filed on their behalf by their counsel, Y. A Yussuf, they argued that the said piece, which was allegedly defamatory or libelous of them came out as follows: “the issue is that these female Senators would not stop offending the sensibilities of their male counterparts with their ‘killer’ dressings. Only last week one of the female Senators from the South-West virtually exposed the most essential part of her thigh, all in the name of dressing. The situation was so bad that those sitting at the gallery could have a clear view of what madam’s husband paid for, each time we took a look,” the piece reads in parts.

The Counsel further argued that “in the said publication, the defendants (The Sun and Mr. Omipidan) drew public attention to the plaintiffs in the following opening words: ‘there are two female Senators from the South-West currently in the Upper Chamber. One is from Ogun State and representing the state, while the other is from Osun State but representing the home state of her husband—Adamawa…’”

He contended that the literal and ordinary meaning of the statement portrayed the second plaintiff, Senator Bent, in an extremely negative light. According to the claim, the publication depicted her as morally lacking, indecent, and unfit for public office, while also questioning her personal integrity, religious standing, and social values. It further alleged that the statements exposed her to public ridicule and diminished her reputation among colleagues, constituents, and the general public.

The counsel further argued that the imputation and innuendo of the statement or words in question also portrayed the husband as a man who “condoned or encouraged his wife to indecency, irresponsibility, promiscuity, immorality and every other wrong or misdemeanor as expressed in (the piece in question),” adding that other parts of the piece also portrayed the senator’s husband as a “weak husband who cannot direct or control his wife or his family or a man without focus or who is indifferent to moral values in his family,” the statement of claim further asserted.

To this end, the Senator and the husband asked the court for among other things, a declaration that the piece as reproduced, published in the Sunday Sun is defamatory of the character or libelous against their persons, an order awarding the sum of N100,000,000(N100 million) in favour of them and against defendants (jointly and severally) being general damages they suffered as a result of the libel and an order of mandatory injunction directing or compelling the defendants (either jointly or severally) to submit to the Senator and the husband, a letter containing “unqualified and unequivocal apology and retraction of the offending statements or expressions to be published in a very conspicuous page of the Daily Sun, Saturday Sun and Sunday Sun Newspapers, and an award of expensae litis.”

While in the witness box, and led by The Sun’s Counsel, O.J. Ochunu, I denied every aspect of the allegations and insisted that the said piece was not about the Senator and the husband. I described the suit as frivolous, vexatious, and an attempt at undue financial gain, urging the court to dismiss it with costs.

In my witness statement on oath, which I later adopted as my evidence before being cross-examined, I stated that the report reflected what I and other journalists observed from the Press Gallery.

Relying on the defences of justification and fair comment, I further argued that the senator and her husband were not defamed and as such have no claim whatsoever against me and The Sun, adding that “the publication was not conceived in bad faith and there was no financial consideration involved at all as the story was not headline news or front page story and the story did not damage the plaintiffs in anyway.”

Long story short, I won the case. So after winning the case, even when The Sun was unwilling, I made move to teach the senator some bitter lessons, largely because before God and man she wasn’t the subject of that piece. Yet, for seven days, she repeatedly called me, raining curses and abuses. At one point, my then fiancée Omolola Hadrat Omipidan Adesola (Aya D’Owner), who is my wife today, became deeply worried. It was a traumatic period for me.

I recall telling the senator that all her curses would come to pass if the allegations she made against me were true. But if they were false, and unless she sought forgiveness, the curses would be hers and that she would never have the opportunity to return to the Senate.

In the end, life moved on. It was after that episode that I got married, and I remain grateful that my journey has, in many ways, vindicated me. The point, however, is that if Senator Bent did not know it then, she should appreciate Mr. Shola Oshunkeye for prevailing on me not to pursue further legal action against her at the time. It was during that period I discovered he was also from my state, and from then on, our relationship blossomed.

Sir, I have no idea about the stories contained in your book, “A Lifetime of Big Stories,” due for unveiling this Thursday to mark your grand move to the seventh floor. But as an insider, I look forward to reading the bits about how you were head-hunted from Tell Magazine to The Sun, the establishment of The Spectator, the intrigues and office politics that led to its death, your appointment as the MD, The Sun, Ghana, your return to Nigeria and your eventual exit from The Sun after a retirement ceiling. Oga, if I did get to read all these in that book, I dare say, you owe Nigerians another book because like your friend and my boss, Chief Femi Adesina said at a book launch about a year or so ago, that books are written because human memories are short, adding that books need to be written and must be written to keep records straight.

Happy 70th birthday, sir! Aseyi se amodun.

–Omipidan, an Abuja-based journalist, is an associate member of NIPR, an author and a public affairs analyst.