The legal and political warfare between the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, and actor-turned-politician Kenneth Okonkwo has taken a dramatic turn.
Okonkwo has leaked private WhatsApp conversations to back his corruption allegations, following a N5 billion defamation lawsuit threat from Obi’s legal team.
The controversy escalated after Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant for Nnewi North and South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, granted interviews to Channels TV and NJENJE MEDIA TV. In those interviews, Ohaegbu denied telling Okonkwo directly that Peter Obi instructed him to pay a N10 million bribe into the NDC account for nomination fees.
Reacting heavily to the denial on his X handle, Okonkwo mocked the aspirant’s claims and stated that he was withholding even more damning details to protect what is left of the former governor’s reputation.
“My attention has been drawn to the interview granted to Channels TV and NJENJE MEDIA TV by Obunike Ohaegbu, the NDC House of Representatives aspirant for Nnewi North and South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency to the effect that he did not tell me directly that Peter Obi said that he should pay N10m to NDC account for nomination fee. I have been laughing since then,” Okonkwo stated.
He further revealed a conversation where he allegedly confronted Ohaegbu about Obi’s involvement in the party’s primary issues.
“In all honesty, I cannot even say everything this man told me about Peter Obi just to preserve the remaining of Peter Obi’s tattered reputation. Indeed, I asked him a question when we were discussing orally, “are you telling me that Peter Obi is the head of this criminal gang that defrauded you people?” He answered “Peter Obi is the head, stomach, and feet of the criminal gang.” As a matter of fact, he pleaded with me to save our people from the criminality of Peter Obi. I told him to put it in writing,” Okonkwo wrote.
Okonkwo added that the aspirant sent a massive message detailing allegations about a candidate list compiled in an Abuja hotel.
“His message was so long that he had to apologise for the length. Please tell me, if a person said that Peter Obi was writing list of aspirants in John Wood Hotel, Abuja, who didn’t win election in NDC, to become candidates for NDC, what else is criminality? He even stated clearly that Peter Obi wrote Senator Victor Umeh’s name as a candidate when he lost. He referred to Peter Obi as my friend in some of his allegations against Peter Obi. I asked him to clarify that “my friend” which he wrote was Peter Obi, and he expressly admitted that,” he stated.
To substantiate his defense, Okonkwo shared exact excerpts from the WhatsApp messages sent to him by Obunike Ohaegbu, detailing the alleged fraud and lack of transparency during the Anambra State NDC primaries.
“My brother, The entire NDC project, at least from my personal experience, has left me feeling deceived and profoundly disappointed … While other states, particularly Kano and several states in the North, appeared to be engaged in negotiations and consultations aimed at achieving consensus, neither I nor, to the best of my knowledge, any aspirant from Anambra State was invited to any meeting for the purpose of negotiating or agreeing a consensus arrangement,” Ohaegbu’s leaked text read.
The message continued by questioning how the party’s list of candidates emerged when no consensus meetings took place.
“Consequentially, I mobilised my supporters and participated fully in the primary election process in the belief that the outcome would determine the party’s candidates. This naturally raises a fundamental question. If no consensus meeting was held with the aspirants in Anambra State, and no agreement was reached amongst those seeking nomination, my brother Ken, how did your friend arrive at the list of candidates that he allegedly produced at Johnwood Hotel in Abuja?”
According to the leaked text, Ohaegbu severely criticized the manipulation of the primary process, describing it directly as a fraud.
“Consensus, by its very nature, requires consultation, negotiation and agreement amongst stakeholders. Where there is no consultation, no negotiation and no agreement, there can be no consensus. If aspirants were directed to participate in primaries while candidate lists were allegedly being prepared elsewhere, then serious questions arise about the integrity of the entire process. If that is not fraud, then the word fraud must have another meaning …”
The leaked chats also directly mentioned Senator Victor Umeh, alleging that individuals who lost the primaries still found their names on the final list.
“The list reportedly included individuals who did not emerge from the primary process. Indeed, even Senator Victor Umeh, who reportedly lost his contest, appeared on the list. Yet, as of today, 7 June 2026, the party has still not published the official results of the primaries …”
The text concluded by highlighting a statement from the NDC National Secretary, which allegedly shifted the entire blame for the controversial Anambra primary situation back onto Peter Obi.
“Even more disturbing is the fact that the same statement signed by the National Secretary appeared to shift responsibility for the Anambra situation to PO. I have read the statement several times and remain unable to understand how a political party can conduct primaries, refuse to publish results, claim to have completed appeals, produce a controversial list of candidates, and then seek to place responsibility elsewhere,” the text concluded.
This leak follows a formal legal notice sent on June 9, 2026, by Peter Obi’s legal team, led by Alex Ejesieme (SAN).
The lawyers accused Okonkwo of making “false, baseless, malicious, reckless, defamatory and wholly unsupported by any fact” claims during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
The legal team gave Okonkwo a 7-day ultimatum to pay N5 billion in damages and issue an unreserved public apology, warning that failure to comply would lead to a full court trial.
Okonkwo has since dared Obi to proceed to court, stating that any legal action would only lead to a massive disclosure of damaging inside information.
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