{
  "id": 13120524,
  "title": "Court adjourns SERAP’s N100m defamation appeal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/court-adjourns-seraps-n100m-defamation-appeal",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T13:16:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/court-adjourns-seraps-n100m-defamation-appeal/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of two appeals related to a defamation suit involving the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). The original High Court ruling ordered the organization to pay N100m in damages to two Department of State Services officials. The three-member special panel, presided over by Justice Danlami Senchi, vacated its earlier decision to reserve judgment after discovering that the second appeal, filed by Kolawole Oluwadare, was not ready for hearing. The appeals, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1114/2026 and CA/ABJ/CV/1105/2026, challenge the original judgment delivered by Justice Yusuf Halilu on May 5, 2026. SERAP argues that the officials were not named in the publications and that the claimants failed to provide credible evidence to support their claims. The panel has directed the first and second respondents to file their briefs by October 12, while the appellant must file a response by the same date.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "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": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "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",
        "published": "2026-10-09T12:41:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Court adjourns SERAP’s N100m defamation appeal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/court-adjourns-seraps-n100m-defamation-appeal-13127475",
        "published": "2026-10-09T13:54:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}