A N7 billion libel suit against ThisDay newspaper and its management has been adjourned to January 2020 by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

The suit was instituted against the newspaper by the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in 2020 for publishing a report captioned ‘With Wike, Obaseki Meets His PDP’S Waterloo; Almost’ on June 23, 2020.

Other defendants in the suit are Leaders and Company Limited’s (ThisDay’s parent company), Davidson Iriekpen, Chuks Okocha and Adibe Emenyonu.

Testifying in an affidavit he deposed before the court, Wike said that publication portrayed him as deceitful and an unreliable person who exerted significant influence on judicial matters and over court sittings in Port Harcourt.

Wike stated that the defendants accused him of influencing the decision of the Port Harcourt court that granted a restraining injunction against Godwin Obaseki from participating in the primaries of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State in 2020 to favour his ally, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, who was the beneficiary of the order.

After listening to the testimonies of the governor, the Presiding Judge Adolphus Enebeli adjourned the matter to 12th, 13th and 14th of January 2022 for further hearing.