Nigerian broadcaster Arise TV has won a defamation lawsuit brought against it in the United States by Nigerian pastor Adetunmbi Adewami. The US District Court in Maryland dismissed the suit on Tuesday, citing a lack of jurisdiction over the television station.
Judge Peter Messite ruled that the mere accessibility of the news article in question via the internet in Maryland did not automatically grant the court the authority to hear the case. He emphasized that the defendant, Arise TV, must have sufficient contact with Maryland to establish the court’s jurisdiction.
“Merely broadcasting a news article that became accessible on the internet in the state is not sufficient to show a defendant’s own contacts with the state,” Judge Messite stated.
Pastor Adewami, the lead pastor of Christ Royal Assembly for All Nations International, headquartered in Maryland, filed the case against Arise TV and its parent company, Arise Media Inc. (Nigeria), on April 20, 2023. He alleged that a news article titled “Pastor charges N310k for heaven,” aired and published by Arise TV on April 27, 2022, caused him significant harm and emotional distress.
The pastor claimed that the article falsely used his picture and maliciously asserted that he charged congregants N310,000 to enable them to fly to heaven. He argued that this “false and offensive broadcast” was disseminated to a global audience via the internet, including thousands of people in Maryland, damaging his reputation and resulting in a loss of congregation members.
Adewami further contended that this reputational harm led to “severe and serious emotional distress” experienced in Maryland. He accused Arise TV of “libel and libel per se, false light invasion of privacy, infliction of emotional distress (both intentional and negligent), and common-law misappropriation” of his image and likeness.
Court documents revealed that Arise TV was served with the complaint on May 9, 2023, with proof of service filed by June 15, 2023. Arise TV did not respond within the required period, prompting Adewami to move for an “entry of default” judgment on July 1, 2023. In September, the court clerk issued an order of default against Arise TV.
After reviewing the case materials, the court found that no hearing was necessary and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. “Accordingly, the motion for default judgment is moot,” the court ruled, implying that the motion was not worth considering.
The court concluded that any judgment against a defendant without personal jurisdiction is void. It noted that Arise TV is not incorporated in Maryland and has no explicit affiliation with the state. The court also determined that Arise TV did not broadcast the news article with the intent to target the Maryland audience.
“The mere fact that information is available on the internet is not sufficient to demonstrate targeting,” the court ruled.
The court held that the online accessibility of the news article and Adewami’s claimed injuries in Maryland were insufficient to establish specific personal jurisdiction over Arise TV.
