A Lagos State High Court has ordered Canada-based singer Stephanie Otobo to pay N100 million in damages to the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Johnson Suleman, over defamatory allegations made against him.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Olubunmi Fadipe after a prolonged legal battle that began in 2017, following accusations by Otobo that the cleric had a sexual relationship with her.
She had alleged that Suleman impregnated her, gave her substances to terminate the pregnancy, and later promised to marry her.
However, Suleman denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against her.
Otobo later retracted her claims, alleging that she had been influenced and financially induced by some politicians and pastors to make the accusations. The controversy resurfaced in 2022 when she again made public statements and shared explicit images online, claiming they were connected to the cleric.
Court filings showed that Suleman had sought an injunction compelling Otobo to withdraw her statements, as well as N500 million in damages and public apologies in national newspapers.
Despite being served court documents in November 2022, Otobo reportedly failed to respond and was absent during hearings, including the start of the trial in February 2025.
Delivering judgment, the court ruled that Suleman was entitled to damages for reputational harm but reduced the amount claimed from N500 million to N100 million.
“I award the sum of N=100 million aggravated damages to the claimant against the defendant,” the ruling stated.
The court also ordered Otobo to publish a full-page apology on all platforms where the defamatory statements were made, as well as in The Punch and Sunday Sun newspapers for seven consecutive days within a week of the judgment.
It further restrained her, her agents, and associates from making any further defamatory statements against Suleman.
