By A’isha Biola Raji
Former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd), has instituted a suit at the Abuja High Court against the Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davies, who accused him of sponsoring Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.
In the suit, filed by his team of lawyers, Nnoruka Udechukwu, C.U. Ilegbune, and Ben Anechebe, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Ihejirika is demanding N100 billion as aggravated damages for defamation.
Mr. Davies had in August accused the retired general, a former governor of Borno state, Ali Modu Sheriff, an unnamed senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as a man based in Cairo, Egypt, of being among the top sponsors of the Islamic insurgents.
The former army chief has denied the allegation.
Mr. Ihejirika, who retired military service in January, said that as a result of the allegation, “he has suffered grievous wrong and he has been exposed to scandal, odium, ridicule, humiliation and his character, credit and reputation brought into disrepute, both in Nigeria and abroad”.
His lawyers have applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enable them serve Mr. Davis, who lives in Perth, Australia, with the court’s processes after securing an order of court to serve the process abroad.
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