The Chronicle newspaper, together with its publishing firm, General Portfolio Limited, has been dragged to an Accra High Court by Mr. Isaac Dzihlornu, an immigration officer, to explain why he has been subjected to alleged defamatory reportage, thereby rendering him a laughing stock among his peers and family members.
Also included in the suit are the acting Editor, Emmanuel Akli and the paper’s Business Editor, Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh.
Isaac Dzihlornu, the Plaintiff, is praying the court to award him the cash sum of GH¢200,000.00 in general damages for alleged defamation. He is also praying the court to order the defendants to publish a retraction and an apology and “give the said retraction and apology the same prominence the defamatory publications received”.
Furthermore, he is praying the court to grant a perpetual injunction to restrain the defendants, their agents, assigns and servants from further publication of any defamatory words against him, in addition to cost he would incur in the trial process.
In a 24-point Statement of Claim filed at the High Court (Fast Track Division) on October 13, 2014, by his counsel, Leonard Sedzro from Gyinaye Chambers, Koforidua, the Plaintiff averred that the defendants wrote and published a series of front page alleged defamatory stories about him in the Wednesday, October 8, Thursday, October 9 and Friday, October 10, 2014 issues of the paper, and in the process damaged his reputation.
According to Dzihlornu, the above mentioned stories with captions; ‘SECURITY BREACH @KIA… Immigration Officer preys on women using travel information; GIS ROMEO SWINDLES T’DI BEAUTY… ‘I spent on her, and she spent on me’; and 2ND JULIET POPS UP …ON GIS Romeo affairs …Interior summons Immigration capos’, all “portrayed him as a shameless opportunist, a criminal and a person whose libido makes him to suspend his reasoning faculties”.
Additionally, he said the publications also prayed him to the world as a fraudster and an unpatriotic citizen of Ghana who has scant disregard for his profession as an Immigration Serviceman.
He was also worried about the circulation of the publications on the worldwide web and complained that “whenever his name Isaac Dzihlornu is entered in google or any other search engine, the defamatory stories pop up as search results.
“The false and malicious publications by defendants have injured the image of plaintiff and brought his hard-won reputation into hatred, ridicule, odium, discredit, contempt, opprobrium and reproach, and in consequence his family, friends and acquaintance sneer at him, look down on him, shun his company and avoid contact with him”, argued lawyer for the Plaintiff in his suit filed at the High Court (Fast Track Division).
Meanwhile, the acting Editor of The Chronicle, in an interview on the subject, said his outfit was “not disturbed at all” by the suit brought against him and others.
He said The Chronicle is also studying evidence it has about the Plaintiff, which is yet to be made public, to see “whether it can counter sue the Plaintiff”.
