The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has officially initiated a N8 billion legal battle against his former spokesperson and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, citing alleged defamation.
The lawsuit was filed at the Onitsha Judicial Division of the Anambra State High Court on Thursday.
This action stems from Okonkwo’s appearance on a Channels TV programme on 8 June, where he alleged that Obi defrauded House of Representatives aspirants of N10 million each and went ahead to write a list of candidates for various federal constituencies in the South-east.
Following a pre-action notice issued by Obi on 9 June, which demanded a withdrawal of the allegations, a N5 billion compensation, and a public apology, Okonkwo stood his ground.
In a letter dated 16 June signed by his lawyer, V. I. Uma, the ADC chieftain maintained that he stood by his words.
Okonkwo claimed he spoke out after receiving briefs from NDC aspirants who were allegedly defrauded and extorted by the NDC South-east caucus led by Mr Obi.
In the writ of summons dated 25 June and issued by Obi’s lawyer, Alex Ejesieme (SAN), the former Anambra governor characterizes the allegations as false, malicious, baseless and defamatory.
The suit, marked 0/229/26, details Obi’s demands:
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N5 billion in general damages for injury caused to his reputation, character, integrity, public image, political standing and goodwill.
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N2 billion in aggravated damages regarding the manner, breadth, persistence, and repetition of the publications.
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N1 billion in exemplary damages for the deliberate repetition and amplification of the imputations following the initial pre-action notice.
Obi has requested a court order directing Okonkwo to publish a full, unreserved and unequivocal retraction and apology across Channels TV, its YouTube channel, various social media platforms, and three national newspapers.
Additionally, he seeks a perpetual injunction restraining Okonkwo from circulating similar remarks and has requested that defamatory content be deleted from all accounts under the defendant’s control.
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