Having waited for the expiration of an ultimatum to apologize to him and retract a defamatory statement, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has instituted an ₦8 billion defamation suit against his former spokesperson and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, over allegations made during a television interview.
The suit, filed at the Onitsha Judicial Division of the Anambra State High Court on Thursday, follows from comments made by Okonkwo during an appearance on Channels Television on June 8, where he alleged that Obi defrauded House of Representatives aspirants of ₦10 million each and personally compiled the list of candidates for federal constituencies in the South East Zone.
Obi described both the television interview and Okonkwo’s subsequent publications on social media as “false, malicious, baseless and defamatory.”
In the suit, the former Anambra State governor asked the court to award ₦5 billion as general damages for injury to his reputation, integrity, political standing and goodwill; ₦2 billion as aggravated damages over what he described as the continued repetition and wide circulation of the allegations after receiving the pre-action notice; and ₦1 billion as exemplary damages for the alleged deliberate amplification of the claims.
He also demanded the court to order Okonkwo to publish a full, unreserved and unequivocal apology within seven days of judgment on Channels Television, the station’s YouTube platform, all his social media accounts and in three national newspapers.
The NDC Presidential Candidate further prayed the court to compel the defendant to delete all alleged defamatory publications from his social media platforms and websites under his control.
The suit also seeks a perpetual injunction restraining Okonkwo or his agents from making or circulating similar statements against him in the future, as well as the cost of the suit and 10 per cent annual post-judgment interest on any monetary award.
Recall, Obi, through his lawyer, Chief Alex Ejesieme (SAN), had issued a pre-action notice dated June 9, demanding a retraction, apology and ₦5 billion in compensation.
Defiant Okonkwo had in a response dated June 16 and signed by his lawyer, V.I. Uma, Okonkwo rejected the demands and maintained that he stood by his allegations.
