Veteran Nollywood actress Rita Edochie has responded to a ₦1 billion defamation lawsuit filed against her by her colleague and co-wife, Judy Austin, at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Judy Austin reportedly instituted the legal action amid the long-running dispute surrounding the Edochie family. She also shared copies of the court documents on her verified Instagram account.
In the suit, Judy is seeking ₦1 billion in general damages over alleged defamatory statements attributed to Rita Edochie. She is also demanding an additional ₦50 million as legal costs.
Among her other demands, Judy is asking the court to order Rita Edochie to issue a full and unreserved public apology. According to the claims, the apology should be published in at least two national newspapers and on Edochie’s social media accounts.
She is further seeking an order compelling the actress to remove social media posts that she considers defamatory.
However, Rita Edochie has reacted strongly to the lawsuit, dismissing the claims in a post shared on Instagram shortly after the court documents circulated online.
In her response, the actress said she was confused by the name used by Judy in the legal action, insisting that she does not know anyone called “Mrs Judith Yul-Edochie.”
Edochie maintained that the only person she recognizes by the title “Mrs Yul Edochie” is Queen May Yul-Edochie. She challenged Judy to provide a marriage certificate showing that her legal name is “Judy Yul Edochie” before she would consider giving a further response to the matter.
She also suggested that the lawsuit would not prevent her from speaking about issues surrounding the Edochie family.
In a strongly worded statement, Rita Edochie wrote:
“I RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM ONE MRS JUDITH YUL EDOCHIE AND UP TILL NOW I AM STILL WONDERING AND UTTERLY CONFUSED ABOUT WHO THE BEARER OF THAT NAME IS BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW ANYONE BY THAT NAME.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE ONLY MRS YUL EDOCHIE THAT I KNOW IS QUEEN MAY YUL EDOCHIE. WANTING TO BE ADDRESSED BY THAT NAME IS VERY PROVOCATIVE RIGHT NOW WHICH I TAKE AS A TERRIBLE SLAP ON THE FACE OF THE EDOCHIES.
ANYWAY, SINCE YOU ARE INSISTENT ON BEING ADDRESSED THAT WAY, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO PRESENT YOUR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE HIGHLIGHTING THE EXACT CONFIRMATION OF THAT WEIRD NAME ‘MRS JUDITH YUL EDOCHIE.’ ONLY THEN WILL I GIVE FURTHER RESPONSE TO THIS VERY MESSAGE.
DAALU KWANU GREAT LOVERS OF RITA EDOCHIE.”
The latest development adds another chapter to the highly publicised dispute involving members of the Edochie family, with both sides now taking their positions over the allegations and the legal action.
