Nana Appiah Mensah, the controversial CEO of the now-defunct gold dealership company Menzgold, has taken legal action against journalist Bridget Otoo, accusing her of defamation. The embattled businessman is seeking damages amounting to GHC1,000,000 in a lawsuit filed against Otoo.
For the past few years, Bridget Otoo has been consistently criticizing Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1, for allegedly defrauding Ghanaians through his Menzgold business.
NAM1, in a widely shared writ of summons on social media, alleges that on October 21, 2023, at 7:26 am, while his criminal case was still pending in court, Bridget Otoo posted defamatory comments about him on her social media handle using the username “X.” The comments made by Otoo were as follows:
“In which country will a fraudster like @Nam-the-patriot be allowed to do this? This is a form of bribe for the Police who are to arrest him to distribute money on his behalf!
Smh F NAM1 is a scammer #Jail him #Occupy Julorbi House.”
According to NAM1, the plaintiff, Otoo’s statement implies that he is a criminal who earns money through deceitful acts of scamming. He claims that Otoo’s words portray him as a fraudster, scammer, dishonest person, and deceiver of the public for personal financial gain.
NAM1 argues that the matter of whether he is a fraudster and scammer is currently being deliberated in a court of competent jurisdiction and has not yet been decided. Therefore, he believes it is not within Otoo’s rights to label him as such.
The plaintiff contends that his character and reputation have been severely damaged by being portrayed as a fraudster and scammer in the eyes of the public and his business partners worldwide.
Consequently, NAM1 is seeking GHC1,000,000 in damages for defamation. He is also requesting a perpetual injunction that would prevent Otoo from publishing any further defamatory material about him, an order for Otoo to publicly retract her statements and offer an unqualified apology on the same platform, and an order to remove any defamatory statements made against him from Otoo’s social media handles.
In response to the lawsuit, Bridget Otoo is expected to present her defense in court, where the matter will be decided by a judge. The case has garnered significant attention due to the high-profile nature of NAM1 and the allegations against him. It remains to be seen how the court will rule in this defamation lawsuit.