A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that actress Halima Abubakar pay the sum of N10 million in damages for publishing derogatory remarks against Apostle Johnson Suleman, the general overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International.
The legal battle stems from remarks made by Halima on social media in 2022, where she claimed to have once dated Apostle Suleman. Following her statements, Suleman threatened legal action against her for defamation.
Although the matter appeared to have subsided with reports emerging of Halima’s health challenges, a blogger later alleged that Apostle Suleman had affairs with several Nollywood stars.
These claims prompted Suleman to vehemently deny the accusations, describing them as an orchestrated attempt to tarnish his reputation.
During the court proceedings on Monday, Apostle Suleman accused Halima of continuing to publish derogatory comments against him on her Instagram page.
However, despite being summoned to defend herself in court, Halima failed to appear.
Presiding over the case, Justice Enobie Obanor ruled in favor of Apostle Suleman, ordering Halima Abubakar to pay N10 million in damages.
Additionally, the court directed Abubakar to publish a retraction of her defamatory statements on her Instagram page and barred her from making any further defamatory publications against Apostle Suleman.