The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has written to President Bola Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, demanding a retraction and apology for accusing him of sponsoring planned nationwide protests to cause anarchy and unleash mayhem on the nation.
In a letter by his lawyer, Alex Ejesieme, Obi referenced a tweet by Onanuga on Sunday, July 23, making the allegations.
Obi denied the claims, stating that Nigerians were protesting against Tinubu’s economic policies, which have led to widespread poverty, rising inflation, and other grievances.
Onanuga had alleged that Obi was behind the planned protests, claiming it was his way of expressing grievances over his loss at the polls last year.
On July 20, Onanuga labeled Obi and his supporters “anarchists” who could not cope with their loss at the 2023 presidential polls and were seeking to destabilize Tinubu’s leadership under the pretext of protests slated for August.
Obi’s lawyer demanded a retraction of the defamatory comments, a letter of apology to be published in four newspapers, and N5 billion as compensation for damages suffered by Obi due to the alleged defamation.
“REVEALED: Peter Obi’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria: Obi should be held responsible for anarchy,” Mr Onanuga tweeted.
Denying the allegations, Mr Obi likened Mr Onanuga to a lady fool seeking souls to convert to his foolishness.
The former governor demanded N5 billion to compensate for the damage and embarrassment he suffered due to Mr Onanuga’s assertions.
“Our client denied the entirety of the falsehood contained in the said publication and insists that there is no modicum of truth in the allegations preferred against him in your published statement that has since gone viral on the Internet and other platforms,” Mr Ejesieme who is representing Mr Obi wrote in the suit filed on Monday.
The Labour candidate further demanded a retraction of the statement within 72 hours which he said must be published in four national newspapers.
Failure to accede to the demands, according to Mr Obi, would escalate into a lawsuit that might cause Mr Onanuga to be tried on the charges in “a court of competent jurisdiction.”
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