Nollywood actress Judy Austin has reportedly filed a ₦1 billion defamation lawsuit against her former husband, Emmanuel Obasi, following a series of public statements he made about their past relationship and family.
The lawsuit, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, seeks ₦1 billion in general damages over alleged defamatory statements. Austin is also asking the court to compel Obasi to retract the statements, apologise publicly and remove the allegedly defamatory content from his social media platforms. She is further seeking ₦100 million in legal costs.
Obasi has confirmed that he received the court papers. Rather than backing down, he said in a separate video that the lawsuit would not stop him from speaking about his children and his efforts to reconnect with them.
According to reports, Obasi insisted that he would continue pursuing access to his children, even if doing so ultimately resulted in imprisonment.
“It’s either I have my children or I go to jail,” Obasi was reported to have said, maintaining that the legal action would not intimidate him into abandoning his quest to see his children.
The legal battle comes amid renewed public controversy surrounding Austin and Obasi’s past marriage, with both sides making conflicting claims about their relationship and their children.
Austin has also filed a separate ₦1 billion defamation suit against actress Rita Edochie, bringing the total damages sought in the two cases to more than ₦2 billion.