Defamation Cease and Desist Letter

The Defamation Cease and Desist Letter is a written notification that warns a party to cease and desist from defamation of the character and reputation of another party. Defamation is the publication or spread of false, malicious, and damaging statements about another party.

For defamation to exist, the following elements must be present:

• A party must make a false statement about another party. If the comment was accurate, then it can not be defamation. Therefore, for an action to qualify as defamation, one party must make inaccurate statements about another.

• The false statement must have a likelihood of damaging the reputation of the party. The comment made must also be harmful that it must have the possibility of destroying the character of the person or the business reputation of a business or organization. For example, if A makes a false statement claiming that a company sells high-quality products, whereas the company sells substandard goods, then the false statement does not qualify as defamation.

• The false comment can be expressed by spoken words (slander) or a written publication (libel). The difference between libel and slander is that while slander is a misleading statement spoken of a person to another, on the other hand, libel is when a person publishes written false information on any platform.

• The statement is not privileged. Statements made in the course of a legal proceeding or legislative proceeding are privileged.
  
  

How to use this document

Rather than instituting legal action, the Defamation Cease and Desist Letter should be the first step to resolve issues relating to defamation. This document contains the following information:

• Details of the false information. This includes the dates the statements were made, where it was published, and other relevant information.

• Details of how the false and damaging statement has destroyed the character and reputation of the person or the business reputation of the organization (if applicable).

• The period within which the offending party must withdraw the false statement.

• The sender's demands or requests regarding the defamation, such as a public apology.

After completing this form, it should be printed and signed by the party sending the letter. The document may be sent as a letter or an email.

After this, the sender should wait for the response of the offending party. If the offending party satisfies the demands of the sender and retracts the statement, the matter can be settled without seeking legal recourse. However, if the recipient willfully refuses to comply with the notice, the sender can pursue any available legal remedy, such as instituting an action in court and seeking injunctions, damages, and other equitable reliefs.

Applicable law

Defamation is also a criminal offence under the Nigerian Criminal Code Act.

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