A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, has vowed to meticulously prosecute his junior colleague, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, over alleged serial defamatory publications and contemptuous conduct against him.
Ubani’s position was conveyed in a statement issued by his counsel, Barrister Nkem Okoro, following what he described as yet another reckless, sensational, and legally irresponsible publication authored by Jaja, in which Ubani’s name was allegedly inserted into an alleged criminal narrative without any supporting facts or evidence.
According to Okoro, the publications in question form part of a sustained campaign of defamation, despite subsisting court orders restraining Jaja from making further derogatory statements against Ubani.
Contempt Proceedings Before FCT High Court
Jaja is currently facing contempt proceedings before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), presided over by Justice S.U. Bature, in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/4411/2025, as reflected in a Form 48 (Notice of Consequences) already issued against him.
The Form 48 warns that continued disobedience of the court’s restraining order may result in committal to prison.
Alleged Open Letters to EFCC and Others
Okoro specifically referenced a series of letters allegedly authored by Jaja and addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and members of the legal profession, wherein he allegedly made disparaging and defamatory statements against Ubani.
One of such letters, dated January 12, 2026, and addressed to the EFCC, was titled:
“How Malami Took Inducements to Kill the EFCC Prosecution of Abubakar Olantewaju Suleiman, Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), and Thereby Institutionalised a Culture of Looting, Lack of Meritocracy and Acts of Impunity Committed by Both the Director General and Monday Ubani, a Friend of the DG.”
In another letter, Jaja allegedly accused Ubani of complicity in the prosecution of a former Chairman of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), claiming that Ubani aided his client’s escape to evade EFCC prosecution.
Violation of Court Order Alleged
Okoro stated that the publications not only amount to defamation but also constitute a deliberate violation of a subsisting court order restraining Jaja from making further defamatory or tarnishing publications against Ubani.
He recalled that the FCT High Court had earlier restrained Tonye Clinton Jaja and Lilian Okenwa, both legal practitioners, from making further derogatory publications against Ubani, pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice.
The restraining order followed Motion Ex-Parte No. FCT/HC/M/16245/2025, which was moved and argued by Okoro. In an enrolled order dated December 9, 2025, Justice Bature also directed the maintenance of the status quo ante bellum pending the determination of the motion on notice.
“Character Assassination and Abuse of Media Space”
Despite the pending civil and criminal proceedings, Okoro said Jaja had persistently continued what he described as a campaign of reckless publications in utter disregard for the authority of the court and the rule of law.
He stressed that the mere mention of a person’s name in a criminal narrative without particulars does not amount to evidence or public interest disclosure, but rather constitutes character assassination and abuse of media space.
“Our client has neither had any professional, financial, administrative, nor personal dealings with the former Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, nor with the author, and has never been connected in any manner whatsoever to the allegations irresponsibly propagated in the said publication,” Okoro said.
He added that the author’s failure to provide factual particulars exposes the hollowness and mischief underlying the claims.
Legal Action to Be Pursued to Conclusion
Okoro disclosed that his firm has already activated, and continues to pursue, robust civil and criminal enforcement processes against Jaja arising from his alleged serial defamatory publications and contemptuous conduct.
“These processes shall be methodically prosecuted to their logical conclusion until full legal redress is achieved,” he stated.
He maintained that if Jaja possesses any credible evidence against Ubani, the proper forum remains the courtroom, not media trials, open-letter propaganda, or reckless abuse of public platforms.
The public was urged to discountenance the publications in their entirety and to be guided by verifiable facts, judicial processes, and the rule of law.
Okoro warned that any further defamatory publications would attract immediate and escalated legal consequences, adding that it was only a matter of time.
By Godwin Tsa (Abuja)
#MondayUbaniSAN #TonyeClintonJaja #DefamationCase #ContemptOfCourt #FCTHighCourt #NigerianLegalNews #RuleOfLaw #AbujaNews
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