Ex-Envoy Petitions FCT CJ, Alleges Bias in Onyeama’s Defamation Case

Wale Igbintade

A former Nigerian Ambassador, Lilian Onoh, has petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), alleging judicial bias and procedural irregularities in a defamation suit filed against her by a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

In her petition, Onoh questioned the judgment delivered on June 4, 2025, by Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya, which ruled in favour of Onyeama.

She described aspects of the decision as troubling and claimed that it conflated her criticism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with personal defamation against the former minister.

Onoh, who previously served as Head of Mission in Jamaica and High Commissioner to Namibia, argued that the ruling undermined institutional accountability by treating criticism of the ministry as a personal attack on Onyeama.

She also alleged that certain procedural steps were not followed.

According to her, the court declined to hear some of her pre-trial applications and required her to bear costs associated with virtual court proceedings, including the provision of technical resources.

In the petition, she further alleged that there were delays in the issuance of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, which she said hindered her ability to file an appeal promptly.

Onoh suggested that the handling of the case may have been influenced by her prior petition in 2023 concerning alleged misconduct, and called for a review of the judgment.

She also urged the FCT Chief Judge to investigate certain remarks made in court, which she believed amounted to improper judicial conduct.
The petition, which was also sent to the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General of the Federation, and several diplomatic missions, called for an independent inquiry and an interim suspension of the judgment’s enforcement.

Efforts to obtain comments from Justice Ogbonnaya and Mr. Onyeama were unsuccessful as of press time.