The United States District Court in the Northern District of California has thrown out the N500m damages registered in the United Kingdom on behalf of the general overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Worldwide Daniel Olukoya and the church against a UK-based blogger Maureen Badejo.
The court also declined personal jurisdiction over the defendants and denied plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment.
Justice Abiodun Akinyemi of an Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta had awarded N500m damages against Badejo over libellous publications against Olukoya and MFM.
But the US Court District Judge 1, Haywood Gilliam Jr., in his judgment obtained on Monday, denied the motion for default judgment and dismissed the case “for lack of personal jurisdiction.”
The judge dismissed the case for lack of personal jurisdiction.
“Plaintiffs allege only that Ms Badejo is a Nigerian-born blogger who resides in the United Kingdom; that she operates an online news site, Defendant Gio TV, with an emphasis on Nigeria; and that this online news site is accessible on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram,” said Gilliam.
“The allegations are insufficient to establish general personal jurisdiction over defendants. Plaintiffs argue that the court has specific personal jurisdiction over defendants because the defendants’ minimum contacts with California satisfy the Ninth Circuit’s three-prong test.
“This is a state law defamation case against defendant Maureen Badejo, a foreign national who appears to be a Nigerian citizen and resides in the United Kingdom.”
