Tam-George Sues ThisDay Over Fake News …Seeks N500m Damages

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr Austin Tam-George, has taken legal action against the publishers of ThisDay Newspapers for attributing a statement to him, which he said he never made.
In a report titled “Wike and the Trouble Within” published by ThisDay, last Sunday, Tam-George was quoted as having said: “[Governor Nyesom] Wike does not have any good dream for Rivers State. Commissioners serving under Governor Wike can no longer pay the school fees of their wards, Governor Wike is running a one-man-show government and I’ve decided not to be part of such government again.”
But in a letter to ThisDay, through his lawyers, Adegboruwa and Co., a prominent law firm in Lagos, the former commissioner said the statement was a malicious and deliberate fabrication intended to damage his reputation.
Tam-George, therefore, demanded an immediate retraction and apology from the newspaper.
The former commissioner, who was once an Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellow, and lecturer at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is also demanding N500million in damages from the newspaper.
The letter sent to ThisDay by Ebun-Olu Adebgoruwa, Tam-George’s lawyer, says that “the said malicious and libelous publication, despite several clarifications availed your company, was with an already made-up agenda, deliberately published and circulated by your company with the full knowledge and awareness of its consequences and implications on the feeling, integrity, character, business, career, and reputation of our client.”
The letter, therefore, sought immediate retraction and apology to be published in three national dailies, and the payment of N500million in damages to the former commissioner.
It would be recalled that on Thursday, June 23, 2017, Tam-George, resigned from the Wike-led government as commissioner.
In the letter of resignation, Tam-George said, “I wish to resign my appointment as commissioner for information and communication with effect from today, June 23, 2017.
“I have handed over officially to the director of administration of the ministry.
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the state,” he added.