The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi has demanded a retraction and an apology from the Special Adviser to the president on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, over an allegation linking him to the planned mass protest slated for August.
It would be recalled that the Presidential Spokesperson had on July 20, 2024, claimed in his X handle @aonanuga1956 that “ Peter Obi’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria and that Obi should be held responsible for anarchy”
Reacting to this allegation, Obi through his counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme, SAN of the MADIBA Chambers said that the allegation which was widely published on social and mainstream media and read by many 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 added that the allegation may have achieved its insipid motive as well-wishers from all around the globe have inundated Obi to register their shock.
The letter noted in parts; “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 N5b for the embarrassment your defamatory publication has caused him and his family”
The letter reiterated further that in the event the demands are not met as set out above, there shall be constrained to approach a Court of Competent jurisdiction and take legal action for defamation and libel.
Click Here to Read Peter Obi’s Lawsuit Against Bayo Onanuga
