The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has demanded from the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy to the President, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, immediate retraction of what he described as “wild allegation, linking him as behind the planned mass protest being planned for August”.
Recall that the Presidential Spokesperson had on July 20, 2024, claimed in his X handle, @aonanuga1956, that “ Peter Ob’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria and that Obi should be held responsible for the anarchy”
But, Obi, writing through his counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme, SAN of the Madiba Chambers, stated that the allegations which was widely published in the social and mainstream media, and read by several people within and outside the country, maligned his hard-earned reputation as a man who indulges in violence, when all his antecedents are vivid, that he abhors violence even in the face of extreme provocation.
“It’s our client’s conviction that the publication was a calculated plot to demean, ridicule, humiliate and embarrass him by the estimation of every right thinking member of the society”.
The letter noted that the allegations may have achieved its insipid motive as well-wishers from all around the globe, have inundated Obi to register their shock.
“His appellation as ‘Okwute’ ( the Rock) notwithstanding, the demeaning and scandalous publication has also caused a serious emotional injury to our client given his decades of stellar stewardship in private and public life.
“Consequently, we have our clients mandate to demand that you retract the statement made in the publication and tender an unreserved apology to him within 72 hours of the receipt of this letter in not less than 4 National Dailies to wit: Vanguard, THISDAY, Punch and the Cable, including your verified X“@aonanuga1956.
“Our client is also making an unequivocal demand for the monetary damage of N5 billion for the embarrassment your defamatory publication has caused him and his family”.
The letter added, “In the event of your failure to meet the demands set out above, our client shall be constrained to approach a Court of Competent jurisdiction and take legal action against you for defamation and libel”
