Court summons Wike in N40bn defamation suit filed by Tonye Cole
A High Court in Abuja has ordered Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, to enter an appearance in a ₦40 billion defamation suit filed against him by Tonye Cole, the 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State.
Channels Incorporated Limited, owners of Channels Television, is also joined as a defendant in the case. According to a court notice issued on Friday, December 5, the matter marked CV/4502/25 is slated for mention on December 9 before Justice M. A. Hassan of Court 33.
“Take notice that suit no: CV/4502/25 Tonye Patrick Cole vs Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and Anor will come up on the 9th day of December 2025 before Hon. Justice M. A. Hassan for mention,” the notice reads.
Cole’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Jibrin Okutepa, stated that the lawsuit was initiated after Wike and Channels Television allegedly failed to comply with a pre-action notice and a demand letter dated October 8.
The claim centres on comments Wike made about Cole during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on September 18. Cole insists the statements were false, malicious and damaging to his personal, professional and public reputation.
Court filings show that the remarks suggested Cole was involved in financial misconduct and mismanagement of state resources, including issues tied to Rivers State gas assets and the Olympia Hotel. Cole’s counsel argued the comments were defamatory because they imputed dishonesty and wrongdoing, harming his standing both nationally and internationally.
Cole says he suffered humiliation, mental anguish and reputational damage from what he described as a “malicious, reckless and unfounded defamatory broadcast and publication.” Alongside the forty billion naira in damages, he is seeking five hundred million naira in litigation costs and a judicial declaration that the statements were false and defamatory.
He is also asking the court to compel Wike and Channels Television to retract the claims, delete the broadcast from all platforms, and publish an apology on Channels Television and in at least five national newspapers. Additionally, he seeks a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from making further defamatory statements about him.
The court has ordered the defendants to enter an appearance within twenty one days of receiving the writ.
