The Works and Housing Minister has sued the host of Onua TV’s morning show, Blessed Godsbrain Smart, popularly known as Captain Smart, for defamation.
The suit also has Media General listed as part of the parties since its medium was used to propagate the defamatory message.
According to the sector minister Francis Asenso-Boakye, Captain Smart published false news about him and has failed to retract and apologise.
Mr. Asenso-Boakye had earlier claimed that Captain Smart alleged that when he was the Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, he used his influence to stop one Adubufuor, a staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), from being transferred so investigations could be conducted into some alleged misconduct.
However, the Bantama MP had denied it.
According to him, there is no iota of truth in the “blatant and wicked lies” that were peddled about him by Captain Smart on Tuesday, August 23.
He thus instructed his lawyers (Sarkodie Baffuor Awuah and Partners) to demand a retraction and apology from the defendants within seven days after the judgment of the case.
In the writ filed at the Accra High Court, the legislator wants the court to order the defendants (Captain Smart and OnuaTV) to pay him a total of GH₵10million for an alleged defamatory publication.
“A declaration that the words complained of in paragraph 9 and published by the 1st Defendant on the 2nd Defendant’s platforms are defamatory of the Plaintiff’s character.”
Again, the Bantama MP also wants “An order of the Honourable court for a perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd Defendant, its agents, assigns, servants and any person claiming authority through it from utilising its platforms for the propagation of false and malicious statements about the Plaintiff.”
Below is the suit