A Federal High Court in Lagos State has ruled against the 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Bukola Saraki, his campaign director in the 2019 general election over unauthorised use of the photograph of Mrs. Amuda Adeleke, Lagos-based trader, on their campaign billboard.
DAILY POST reported late last year that Mrs Adeleke, a Lagos-based trader, had dragged Saraki who was the Director-General of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation during the 2019 General Election, before the court for using her picture on campaign billboards without her consent.
Also joined in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/./19, were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party’s presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi, his running mate.
Justice Ayokunle Faji, who has been in charge of matter, made a monetary award of N5m to Mrs. Adeleke, yesterday, explaining that the money would be jointly and severally paid by Atiku, Saraki, the PDP, and Peter Obi, Atiku’s running mate during the election.
Atiku and Obi lost the election to the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidates, Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The trader had told the court that the unauthorised use of her photograph for the party’s campaign caused her embarrassment.
“All my friends who saw the campaign billboard said it portrayed me as a woman stricken with poverty who had lost all hope and was prepared to commit suicide,” she said.
She asked the court to award N45m against Atiku, Saraki, the PDP and Obi for infringing on her fundamental right to privacy as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
However, after ruling in her favour, the judge, instead, awarded N5m against the defendants.