Court orders Stephanie Otobo to pay N100m damages to Apostle Suleman

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.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Olubunmi Fadipe following a long-running legal battle that began in 2017, after Otobo accused the cleric of having 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.

The cleric denied all allegations and subsequently took legal action against her for defamation.

Otobo later retracted her claims, alleging she was paid by some politicians and religious figures to blackmail the pastor. The controversy resurfaced in 2022 when she again made public statements and shared explicit images online, claiming they were linked to Suleman.

Court documents showed that Suleman had approached the court seeking an injunction compelling Otobo to withdraw her statements, alongside a demand for N500 million in damages and public apologies across national newspapers.

However, Otobo reportedly failed to respond to court summons served in November 2022 and was absent during subsequent hearings, including the commencement of trial in February 2025.

Delivering judgment, the court held that Suleman was entitled to damages for reputational harm but reduced the amount 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 further ordered Otobo to publish a full-page apology on all platforms where the defamatory statements were made, as well as in national newspapers, including The Punch and Sunday Sun, for seven consecutive publications within seven days of the judgment.

It also restrained her, her agents, and associates from making any further defamatory statements against the cleric.