Former Benue Education Commissioner, Prof Dennis Ityavyar, has filed a ₦1 billion defamation suit against the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, over statements he says were false and malicious.
Also listed as defendants are the governor, the Benue State Government, and the state’s Attorney General.
The suit stems from a July 17 press briefing in which Kula accused Ityavyar of presiding over “rot in the education sector,” collapsing the School of Nursing, being linked to “scholarship fraud,” and trying to stir sympathy ahead of “accountability measures.”
Ityavyar says the remarks damaged his reputation, caused emotional distress, and subjected him to public ridicule. He’s asking the court to order a full retraction in national newspapers, a public apology, and damages totalling ₦1,005,000,000.
A hearing date is yet to be fixed.
