COURT STOPS AIT FROM AIRING ANTI-TINUBU DOCUMENTARY

A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has barred Africa Independent Television from further airing a documentary tagged the 'Lion of Bourdillon'.

The said documentary, which the TV station began airing on March 1, 2015, chronicled series of alleged financial misconduct by a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

But Justice Iyabo Akinkugbe, on Monday, ordered the TV station to stop broadcasting the documentary forthwith pending the determination of a suit filed against the airing of the documentary.

The judge said, "The defendant is hereby restrained from further airing, publishing, disseminating or broadcasting the documentary 'Lion of Bourdilion', pending the determination of the interlocutory application."

Tinubu, through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), had sued the TV station, seeking N150bn in damages for the airing of the 'Lion of Bourdillon', which he considered to be defamatory to his person.

Olanipekun, on Monday, orally applied for an interim order of the court to stop AIT and its privies from the continued airing of the documentary.

This was pursuant to an interlocutary application filed on the subject matter.

In it, the senior lawyer contended that the continued broadcast of the documentary, described as offensive, posed a real, imminent and urgent threat to the integrity of his client in the society.

Olanipekun maintained that except the TV station was stopped from further broadcast of the documentary, no amount of money would be able to compensate for the damage that would be done to his client.

But his attempt to move the application was opposed by counsel for AIT, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who said he had yet to file a response to the application.

Ozekhome said the application was only served on him last week Thursday and that he needed time to respond in the interest of fair hearing.

He subsequently prayed the court to oblige him with a short adjournment to enable him to file the reply, which the court acceded to.

However, Olanipekun made an oral application, asking the court to grant an interim order restraining AIT from airing the contentious documentary.

Although Ozekhome again objected to the prayer for interim injunction, Akinkugbe, however, overruled the objection and granted the order.

The matter was subsequently adjourned till  March 20, for argument on the interlocutory application.