Minister of Works, David Umahi, has filed a N2.5 billion defamation suit against media practitioner Linda Ikeji, Stella Ifeoma Okengwu and Linda Ikeji TV Limited over social media publications he described as damaging to his reputation.
The suit, numbered GWD/CV/264/26, was filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on August 24, 2026.
In the statement of claim, Umahi alleged that the defendants published a series of statements and videos about him between March 2025 and March 2026.
According to the case summary, the publications allegedly linked the minister to bribery, corruption, intimidation, sexual misconduct, land grabbing, sexual harassment and alleged unfitness for public office.
Umahi said he responded by engaging his lawyers to demand the immediate removal of the publications and an unreserved public apology.
He alleged that the demand was not honoured, prompting him to seek legal redress.
The minister is asking the court to declare the publications false and defamatory and order the defendants to remove them from their Instagram accounts and other platforms where they were allegedly circulated.
He is also seeking an order compelling the defendants to publish an apology to him through their social media platforms and other media used to disseminate the alleged defamatory materials.
Umahi further wants the court to issue a perpetual injunction preventing the defendants, their agents or representatives from publishing further materials he considers false and defamatory against him.
The minister is claiming N500 million in general damages and N2 billion in exemplary damages.
He is also seeking N500 million as legal costs and 10 per cent annual post-judgment interest on any judgment sum awarded by the court.
The suit was filed by lawyers from Synergy Attorneys, led by A. J. Owonikoko, SAN, alongside other senior advocates.
The case summary states that the defendants had not been served with the court process at the time the document was prepared.
The allegations in the suit are yet to be determined by the court. The defendants have the right to respond and present their defence in accordance with the law.