In a significant legal development, the Rivers State High Court has granted Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill the permission to serve court documents through substituted means in an ongoing defamation and breach of contract lawsuit. This matter involves Chinenye Agwumba, Kalabari TV, and two other parties.
The lawsuit, filed by Princewill through his attorney, Professor Richard Wokocha, arises from allegations presented in a televised segment on Kalabari TV and various social media postings. These allegations accuse Prince Tonye Princewill of failing to fulfill a contract for the production of burial brochures for his late father, King Prof. TJT Princewill.
Professor Wokocha explained that the contract in question was awarded and fully paid for by the King’s burial committee, emphasizing that Tonye Princewill was not in a position to oversee the delivery of the materials due to his personal circumstances. “Mr. Agwumba did not deliver the printed materials on time and to specification,” he stated. “Despite this, he went ahead to make unfounded accusations against the person of Tonye Princewill, online and through Kalabari TV.”
The court’s decision to allow substituted service comes after repeated attempts to serve court papers were reportedly thwarted by the respondents, leading to allegations of their deliberate evasion of formal service.
In a related development, the court struck out a separate lawsuit filed by Agwumba against Princewill, labeling it as procedurally defective. The suit filed by Tonye Princewill is scheduled to reappear in court in May 2025.
A source close to Prince Tonye Princewill indicated that, while the legal process may be lengthy, the Prince remains patient. “This lawsuit serves as a clear message that reputational damage and public misinformation will not be overlooked,” the source stated.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the media team behind Kalabari TV had previously requested a substantial fee to cover the King’s burial, a demand that the burial committee chose to decline. Although Tonye Princewill was not directly involved in that decision, he has emerged as a focal point in the ensuing allegations.
The source affirmed that despite the ongoing challenges, Tonye Princewill had encouraged the burial committee to seek an amicable resolution. This included facilitating the payment of an additional sum to the printer, a goodwill gesture that reportedly went unrecognized in the printer’s subsequent public statements.
“Prince Tonye believes that public platforms should not be misused to coerce or defame individuals without just cause,” the source concluded.
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