{
  "id": 13119454,
  "title": "Defamation: Late filing of SERAP’s brief stalls appeals against N101m awarded to DSS officers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/defamation-late-filing-of-seraps-brief-stalls-appeals-against-n101m",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T12:41:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Post Nigeria",
    "slug": "daily-post-nigeria",
    "url": "https://dailypost.ng/2026/10/09/defamation-late-filing-of-seraps-brief-stalls-appeals-against-n101m-awarded-to-dss-officers/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Court of Appeal in Abuja postponed a hearing for appeals filed by the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, against a N101 million fine imposed for defamation. The delay was due to SERAP's late submission of their brief. The appeals, against a May 5 High Court judgment, alleged that SERAP and Oluwadare defamed two Department of State Services (DSS) officials through false publications made on September 10, 2024. At the hearing, the second appeal, filed by Oluwadare, was deemed not ripe for hearing as the appellant had only just filed their brief. The court set aside the proceedings and rescheduled the hearing to October 13. The May 5 judgment by Justice Halilu Yusuf found that the claimants had sufficient evidence to establish all elements of defamation, rejecting SERAP and Oluwadare's defence of justification due to lack of evidence that their publications were false. The judge ruled that the publications injured the claimants' reputation in their professional capacity, and ordered SERAP and its officials to observe due diligence before releasing information to the public. The award included N100 million in damages and N1 million in costs, with interest accruing until the defendants paid the sum.",
  "summary": "The planned hearing by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, in appeals filed the Incorporated Trustees of the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, to challenge the N101 million fine imposed on them for defamation was stalled on Friday owing to the appellants’ late filing of their briefs. The two […] Defamation: Late filing of SERAP’s brief…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "This Day",
        "title": "SERAP, Deputy Director’s Appeals Against ₦101m Defamation Judgment Stalled Over Late Filing of Brief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/serap-deputy-directors-appeals-against-101m-defamation-judgment",
        "published": "2026-10-09T12:18:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Court adjourns SERAP’s N100m defamation appeal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/court-adjourns-seraps-n100m-defamation-appeal",
        "published": "2026-10-09T13:16:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}