FIJ Wins: #Landwey’s N100m Lawsuit Crushed!

FIJ Wins: #Landwey’s N100m Lawsuit Crushed!

The High Court of Lagos State has dismissed a N100 million libel suit filed by real estate investment company, Landwey against the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) and its founder Fisayo Soyombo. Justice Oshoala struck out the case due to a lack of diligent prosecution.

The legal battle began when FIJ published a report in April 2022, highlighting Landwey’s failure to deliver a house to a Nigerian who had paid in full 21 months earlier.

The company, owned by Olawale Ayilara, attempted to persuade FIJ to remove the story, but their efforts were unsuccessful. In February 2023, it retaliated by taking down FIJ’s website.

In response, FIJ released an investigation titled “Landwey, Money Heist,” exposing the company’s high-handed and extortionist practices in the real estate industry.

The company’s lawyers threatened a N1 billion lawsuit if the publications were not removed and an apology was not issued. When FIJ refused to comply, the company sued for N100 million in damages.

During the court proceedings, the real estate company consistently failed to appear before the court to pursue its claim. FIJ’s lawyers argued that the company’s actions resulted in needless litigation and incurred costs for the defendants. The real estate firm only appeared in court once, claiming to have debriefed and rebriefed their law firm.

The court had previously awarded a cost of N100,000 against the company for failing to follow necessary procedural steps in the case. The defendants filed their Statement of Defence within the prescribed time, but it failed to respond.

Based on lack of diligent prosecution, the court dismissed the case in accordance with the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.

This ruling marks a victory for FIJ in the legal battle against the libel lawsuit.