Obi threatens to sue Bayo Onanuga, demands apology, N5bn over link to planned protest
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has written to Bayo Onanuga, one of President Bola Tinubu‘s spokesmen, demanding the retraction of his claim that he (Obi) was the brain behind the protest being planned for August.
Onanuga made the claim on July 20, 2024, on his X handle @aonanuga1956 saying: “ Peter Ob’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria” and “Obi should be held responsible for anarchy.”
Writing through his counsel, Alex Ejesieme (SAN) of the Madiba Chambers, Obi said that 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 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 said.
It continued that the allegation may have achieved its “insipid motive” as well-wishers from all around the globe have inundated Obi to register their shock.
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“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 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 said.
Obi’s lawyers concluded that “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.”