SOWORE CALLS FOR DUE PROCESS, URGES EFCC TO RELEASE VDM OVER DETENTION OF MARTINS VINCENT OTSE (VDM) By Daniel Okonkwo Profiles International Human Rights Advocate To establish a claim of civil defamation, the following elements must be proven: Falsity: The statement must be false. Publication: The statement must have been communicated to a third party. Reputational Harm: The statement must have caused injury to the claimant’s reputation. Civil defamation, though similar in principle to criminal defamation—which involves the publication of a false statement that injures a person’s reputation—differs significantly in its legal application. In Nigeria, defamation can be addressed under both civil and criminal law. Under the Criminal Code, defamatory publication is a misdemeanor and, when done knowingly, carries more severe penalties. However, civil defamation, being more common, typically involves legal remedies such as monetary compensation or injunctive relief. In recent dev...