Businesswoman Threatens N1bn Suit Against Media Houses Over Defamatory Publications

By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna

Prominent Abuja-based businesswoman and philanthropist, Dr Halimat Adenike Tejuosho, has demanded a full retraction and public apology from several online news platforms over what she described as a coordinated and defamatory publication falsely alleging her arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in relation to a purported high-profile appointment and contract scam.

In separate letters dated June 25 and 26, 2025, and issued through her legal representatives, Law Corridor, Dr Tejuosho accused First Weekly Magazine, Ivory NG, Mega News Nigeria, News Online Nigeria, and TheMomentNG.com of publishing and circulating unverified and malicious content that gravely injured her character and professional integrity.

The controversial reports alleged that she had been apprehended for impersonating an aide to the National Security Adviser and defrauding unsuspecting individuals of huge sums through forged appointment documents.

The reports also claimed that a court had recommended her prosecution for several offences, including Advance Fee Fraud and Criminal Breach of Trust.

Dr Tejuosho, through her counsel, categorically denied every aspect of the allegations, describing the reports as deliberate falsehoods concocted to tarnish her reputation before the public. According to her legal team, there is no record of arrest, indictment or court recommendation against her on any of the alleged offences.

The businesswoman, they maintained, has never been involved in any form of fraud or criminal misconduct and has always carried out her activities within the confines of the law.

The legal petitions noted that the defamatory publications were not only reckless but were also made without any effort to confirm their authenticity or offer the subject of the reports an opportunity to respond.

They further emphasized that the damage inflicted by the publications has been severe, with Dr Tejuosho receiving numerous distressing calls and messages from her associates, clients, and stakeholders, many of whom were misled by the stories and have since treated her with suspicion and hesitation.

The legal team demanded that each of the aforementioned platforms immediately retract the story, issue a written apology to Dr Tejuosho to be published on their respective websites and in three national newspapers, and pay the sum of one hundred million naira as compensation for the injury done to her reputation, business relationships, and psychological well-being.

They warned that failure to comply within twenty-four hours would compel their client to seek legal redress in court, where she would be claiming one billion naira in general, aggravated, and punitive damages against each of the media organisations for their roles in publishing and spreading the defamatory content.

At the time of filing this report, none of the implicated media organisations had issued a retraction or publicly responded to the allegations and demands.