The United Kingdom High Court of Appeal has upheld a defamation judgment against UK-based Nigerian blogger Maureen Badejo, ordering her to pay a total of 100,000 pounds in damages to Daniel Olukoya, the founder of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, and his wife, Folashade.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Lavender of the Queen’s Bench Division, dismissed Badejo’s application for permission to appeal earlier court decisions. The court affirmed that the blogger’s online publications regarding the cleric and his wife were false, defamatory, and lacked any factual basis.
The legal battle stems from a series of broadcasts on Badejo’s social media platforms, including Gio TV, where she alleged that Olukoya had defrauded the United States government through untaxed book sales. She further claimed that a UK-based pastor had paid 150,000 pounds into Olukoya’s personal account to facilitate a cover-up of fraudulent activities.
Under the terms of the judgment, which upholds orders initially made in April 2021, Badejo is required to pay 65,000 pounds to Daniel Olukoya and 35,000 pounds to Folashade Olukoya. The court also sustained an order for her to publicly retract the statements and post a summary of the judgment on her social media channels for 10 consecutive days.
In his decision, Justice Lavender characterized the proposed grounds for appeal as hopeless and pointless, noting that the application did not meet the legal threshold for reconsideration at an oral hearing. The court emphasized that while freedom of expression is protected, it does not provide a license to circulate false statements that damage the reputations of others.
This ruling follows a separate legal defeat for Badejo in Nigeria. In February 2021, an Ogun State High Court found her liable for defamation in a suit filed by the ministry, awarding 500 million naira in damages. The presiding judge in that case described her broadcasts as an evil use of social media and ordered a formal apology to be published in national dailies.
This story was first published on PremiumTimes
