By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi who was last Monday discharged and acquitted over allegations of fraud by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has given the Incorporated Trustees, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), a seven-day ultimatum to retract an alleged defamatory publication made against him.
According to Akpobolokemi’s counsel, Eric Omare, the alleged offensive publication was published on April 13, 2024, with title “The Hidden Truth That Led To Killing of 17 Soldiers in Okuama Community”.
In a letter dated April 18, 2024 written by his lawyer, the former NIMASA DG demanded ICIR to tender an unreserved apology and same must be published in three national newspapers including its website (ICIR website) for seven consecutive days, within one week of the receipt of the letter.
He further stated that copy of the said apology must be sent to his lawyer for approval before publication.
Akpobolokemi also threatened to slam a N100 billion suit against the online media house as damages for the defamatory comments if it fails to comply with the demand.
The letter is titled “False, malicious and defamatory publication against the person of Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi: demand for retraction and public apology.”
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Omare stated that the allegation that Akpobolokemi was involved in dictating deployment of military officers in the creeks of the Niger Delta region, which led to the gruesome murder of military officers at Okuama Community is not only false, but malicious, inciting, defamatory and unjustifiable.
The letter reads “By your aforesaid publication, you falsely, maliciously and unjustifiably accused and branded our client as the person who built a white house on a disputed land and illegally, without authority, working alone or with Tompolo influenced and dictated the deployment of military officers to Okuama Community for illegal purpose. You claimed that this led to the gruesome murder of the 17 Soldiers in Okuama Community on the 16th day of March, 2024.
“The content of your publication was brought to the attention of our client by his friends, business associates, kinsmen, admirers, traditional and political from all over Nigeria and abroad and he has been inundated with calls up to the time of writing this letter.
“Your publication, which implies that our client’s illegal activities in dictating deployment of military officers in the creeks of the Niger Delta region ultimately led to their gruesome murder at Okuama Community is not only false, but malicious, inciting, defamatory and unjustifiable.
“Our client was never involved in the movement or deployment of soldiers that were murdered at Okuama Community on the 16th of March, 2024 or any other date at all. Our client did not influence or dictate the deployment of Soldiers to Okuama Community to investigate the kidnap and release of Anthony Aboh or any other person kidnapped in the inter-communal crisis between Okuama and Okoloba Communities in Delta State or elsewhere as you falsely and unjustifiably published.
“Our client is a private citizen and not a member of the Armed Forces with power to dictate or deploy soldiers or any personnel of the military or paramilitary or at all.
“We have the instructions of Our client to further state that late Anthony Aboh was not his ally and he did not build a white house on a disputed land at Okuama Community or elsewhere as you falsely claimed.
“Our client, who was a former Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has never been convicted of an offence by any court of law in Nigeria or elsewhere. He is a law-abiding citizen and has always lived within the confines of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and has never been involved in the illegal deployment of soldiers or engaged in supremacy battle over the control of the creeks of the Niger Delta region at any time in his life.
Our client has, over the past decades promoted the rule of law in Nigeria in both his public and private activities and has not been found wanting in that regard.
“By reason of your false, malicious and defamatory publication, our client has been exposed to ridicule and public opprobrium and he is now seen as being involved in the untimely, unfortunate and gruesome murder of 17 military officers through their illegal deployment to Okuama Community.
“Our client state that consider the wide readership of your aforesaid false and libellous publication, his person. and business reputation has been seriously injured.
“Consequently, and without prejudice to our client’s right to seek legal redress under the relevant laws, we have his instructions to demand from you immediate retraction of your false and libellous publication and a public apology to be published in three national newspapers including in the website for seven consecutive days, within one week of the receipt of this letter.
“Copy of the said apology must be sent to us for approval before publication. Take notice that should you fail to comply with the demand to retract the false. libellous publication and tender a public apology to our client within one week of receipt of this letter, our client would have no option than to seek legal redress against you, the ICIR and its Trustees individually and collectively in court to protect his hard earned reputation and shall be asking for punitive and exemplary damages in the sum of One Hundred Billion Naira (N100, 000, 000, 000.00) against you”.
