The 2023 Presidential candidate of Labour Party, (LP), Peter Obi has sued the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Communication and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, for defamation.
In the suit filed by Obi’s legal counsel, Alex Ejesieme on 22nd July, 2024, Onanuga is being given 72 hours to pay N5billion damages.
This follows claims by the presidential aide that the LP flagbearer’s supporters were the ones behind the upcoming nationwide protest and they plan to unleash mayhem in Nigeria.
“Obi should be held responsible for anarchy. Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action,” the aide had tweeted.
In addition to the N5bn, the LP flagbearer demanded that Onanuga tender a public apology published in four national newspapers over the widespread defamation and libel or face legal action.
According to Obi, in the suit, 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 reads in part; “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.
“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 client’s 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 TheCable, including your verified X“@aonanuga1956.
“Our client is also making an unequivocal demand for the monetary damage of N5b for the embarrassment your defamatory publication has caused him and his family.
“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…”
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