Obi threatens Onanuga with N5bn defamation suit over ‘protest sponsor’ remarks

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, to retract his alleged defamatory statement against him.

Onanuga had alleged that supporters of Obi are behind the proposed nationwide protest against economic hardship in the country.

In a letter by Alex Ejesieme, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Obi’s lawyer, the former governor of Anambra is also asking Onanuga to tender a public apology published in four national newspapers over the “widespread defamation and libel” or face legal action.

Obi is demanding N5 billion in damages from Onanuga.

There have been reports of a youth-led nationwide protest over the rising cost of living and economic hardship.

The protest is reportedly slated for August 1 to 15.

Onanuga further alleged that the organisers of the planned protest were the same individuals who “hijacked” the #ENDSARS protest of 2020.

“Obi should be held responsible for anarchy. Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action,” Onanuga had written on X.

However, Obi said the allegation, which went viral on social and mainstream media and was read by many within and outside the country, maligned his hard-earned reputation.

He added that the allegation dented his image as “a man who indulges in violence”.

“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 reads.

“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 TheCable, 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.

“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.