A form of publication which tends to cause one to lose the esteem of the community is defamation. This is injury to reputation. A person can be held liable for the defamation of another. In order to prove defamation, the plaintiff must prove:
- that a statement was made about the plaintiff's reputation, honesty or integrity that is not true;
- publication to a third party (i.e., another person hears or reads the statement); and
- the plaintiff suffers damages as a result of the statement.
Slander is a form of defamation that consists of making false oral statements about a person which would damage that person's reputation. If one spreads a rumor that his neighbor has been in jail and this is not true, the person making such false statements could be held liable for slander.
Defamation which occurs by written statements is known as libel. Libel also may result from a picture or visual representation. Truth is an absolute defense to slander or libel.
Some statements, while libelous or slanderous, are absolutely privileged in the sense that the statements can be made without fear of a lawsuit for slander. The best example is statements made in a court of law. An untrue statement made about a person in court which damages that person's reputation will generally not cause liability to the speaker as far as slander is concerned. However, if the statement is untrue, the person making it may be liable for criminal perjury.
If a communication is made in good faith on a subject in which the party communicating it has a legitimate right or interest in communicating it, this communication may be exempt from slander liability due to a qualified privileged.
The following form letter demands that someone cease making libelous or slanderous statements, or appropriate legal action will be taken.
Defamation Of Character Law In Nigeria In Wake
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Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act states that anyone who knowingly publishes false defamatory matter is guilty of a misdemeanor and can face up to one year in prison. Section 391 of the Penal Code Act (for Northern Nigeria) provides for criminal liability when defamation is intended to cause harm.
To succeed in a defamation claim, the plaintiff has to prove four elements: The defendant made a false and defamatory statement about the plaintiff; The statement was communicated to a third party, other than the plaintiff; The statement was made with fault, either intentionally or negligently; The statement caused ...
For a claimant to succeed in an action for defamation, the claimant must be able to prove: That the words were defamatory not to only to few members of the public but the general public. That the words referred to the claimant. That the words were published (to at least one person other than the plaintiff)
General Defamation (Section 392): Offenders may face up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. Defamation Intended to Incite Violence or Public Disorder: Such cases may incur harsher penalties depending on the severity of the consequences.
By the provisions of Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act, any person who publishes any defamatory matter is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for one year; and any person who publishes any defamatory matter knowing it to be false, is liable to imprisonment for two years.
Offences are of three kinds, namely, felonies, misdemeanours, and simple offence. A felony is any offence which is declared by law to be a felony, or is punishable, without proof of previous conviction, with death or with imprisonment for three years or more.
It is limpid from the above exposition that for a plaintiff's defamation claim to succeed in a Nigerian court, such a plaintiff must show that the statement complained of is defamatory, directed at him, and published to a third party.
The Defamation matter is defined in Section 373 of the Criminal Code Act as a matter likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him or her to hatred, contempt or ridicule or likely to damage any person in his profession or trade by injury to his or her reputation.
Penal Code 372 and 373a PC - Public Nuisance In California, a public nuisance injures someone's health, offends somebody, prevents the unrestricted use of property, or interferes with a community's enjoyment of life or property. PC 372 and 373a are the primary statutes that make public nuisance a misdemeanor crime.
