The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has appealed the judgement of Justice O.T. Ademola-Salami of Oyo State High Court, which dismissed his N5billion defamation suit against Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho.
In his appeal, with Suit No: M/1006/2024, filed at the Court of Appeal holden in Ibadan, Iba Adams expressed dissatisfaction, saying that the judge erred in law with his resolutions on six grounds.
Adams had in a case filed on October 15, 2024, claimed that Adeyemo violated his fundamental rights by allegedly recording a private telephone conversation without consent.
He argued that the breach of privacy contravened Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Adams sought declarations stating that it is unlawful to covertly record private conversations without the consent of all parties involved, and publicly release or publish same.
But an Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, presided over by Justice Ademola-Salami, dismissed the defamation suit on the grounds that Adams’ affidavit was defective as it had not been personally deposed by him or someone authorised by him.
Justice Ademola-Salami, in his ruling also awarded N500,000 in costs against Adams in favour of Igboho.
In his appeal, filed on July 22, 2025, Adams said there was no lacuna created by the affidavit in support of the originating application, adding that it contained sufficient facts necessary to uphold the grant of his request for enforcement of his fundamental rights to privacy.
He stressed that given the trite position of law and the clear affidavit evidence on record, the lower court erred to have held that the affidavit in support of his application constituted mere conclusions and hearsay.
“An affidavit would not qualify as hearsay where the deponent deposed to facts within his personal knowledge and facts which he derived from the applicant in appropriate circumstances.
“The affidavit in support of the appellant’s originating motion on notice is in compliance with the provisions of the Evidence Act, 2011 (As amended) on the necessary contents of an affidavit,” the appeal stated.
Adams maintained that Adeyemo has not been able to sufficiently debunk and/or deny the facts in the affidavit, which established that he (Adeyemo) released contents of his private conversations with a third party to the general public on social media.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo therefore urged the Appeal Court to set aside the judgment of the lower court delivered on July 3, 2025.
He also asked that the court, invoking the powers provided under Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act, 2004 (As amended), should assume the powers of the lower court to consider his application and grant the reliefs he had earlier sought in his case filed in October last year.
