*Onanuga: ‘We’ll Meet in Court’
THE presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in last year’s general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has demanded an apology from the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy to the President Bola Tinubu, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, as well as retraction of his allegation linking him and Professor Pat Utomi and other LP supporters to the planned protest from August 1.
Utomi has threatened to file a lawsuit against the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, over allegations made against him regarding the planned protest in the country.
Onanuga had on July 20, claimed on his X handle @aonanuga1956, that: “Peter Ob’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria and that Obi should be held responsible for any anarchy.”
Obi, through his Counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme (SAN), said the allegation, which was widely published in social and mainstream media and read by many within and outside the country, maligned his hard-earned reputation and portrayed him as a man who indulges in violence, when all his antecedents are vivid that he abhors violence, even in the face of extreme provocation.
He stated: “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 stated that the allegation may have achieved its insipid motive as well-wishers from all around the globe have inundated Obi to register their shock, adding: “His appellation as ‘Okwute’ (the Rock) notwithstanding, the demeaning and scandalous publication have 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 four national dailies, including your verified X “@aonanuga1956.
“Our client is also making an unequivocal demand for the monetary damage of N5billion 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.”
Utomi, an LP chieftain, in a statement, denied the allegations, saying he had been out of the country for some time and urged Onanuga to retract his statement or provide evidence to support his claims.
He stated: “If there is no evidence of Onanuga’s false assertion, I will assume it reasonable that the object is to water the ground for false treasonable felony charges that can result in the claim of one’s life.
“I intend to, therefore, proceed to the international criminal and other human rights courts if a reasonable explanation is not forthcoming.”
In his reaction to Obi’s ultimatum and demands, Onanuga, via his X handle, expressed his readiness to face legal action, saying: “I am still waiting for the letter from Peter Obi’s lawyer threatening a N5billion suit and demanding an apology to Peter Obi over the planned ‘revolution.’
“Let me just tell Obi and his lawyer: I am not afraid of any legal action. We shall meet in court.”
