\u25aa\ufe0eGives three days\u2019 ultimatum for retraction of publications with apology<\/p>\n
\u25aa\ufe0eDemands N2b for embarrassment, losses, damages
\nBillionaire son of the Edo soil, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo has taken a step further in his battle against his State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and government by beginning legal proceedings for libellous and defamatory publication against the government.
\nThe Chairman of Ocean Marine Solution (OMS), served notice on the Edo State Government of his intention to proceed against it in court for libelous and defamatory publications against him by the State Government.
\nIn a letter by his Counsel, Dr Oladapo Olanipekun (SAN), dated July 20, 2020 and referenced EM\/OAG\/02\/2020, addressed to the Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Yinka Omorogbe, Capt. Hosa demanded a retraction of the said publications.
\nHe also demanded that the State Government and\/or its representatives should cease and desist from making any further libelous and defamatory publications against him.
\nNot done, the billionaire businessman demanded the sum of N2 billion for the \u201cembarrassment, inconvenience, losses and damages done to his person, character and interests\u201d as a result of the \u201cmischievous, malicious and misleading publications.\u201d
\nIn the four-page letter, Olanipekun said that \u201cOn Monday, 20 July, 2020, publications captioned \u201cOkunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo governorship elections\u201d, appeared on pages 26 of The Punch and 53 of THISDAY.
\n\u201cThe said publications bear the insignia\/mark of the Edo State Government and was signed by Crusoe Osagie, designated as Special Adviser, Media and Communication Strategy (to the Governor), Edo State Government.
\n\u201cThe thrust of the captions and publications referred to above is expressed and reflected in some of the abstracts\/excerpts below:
\n\u201c\u2026a Benin billionaire, Captain Hosa Okunbo, held a meeting on July 19, 2020, where they perfected plans to recruit thugs to disrupt the forthcoming September 19 governorship election in the State, having discovered that they cannot win the election in a fair contest.
\n\u201c\u2026they met with these thugs, gave them targets and paid them in advance to cause trouble and undermine the will of the people during the election.
\n\u201c\u2026Okunbo is a key figure in the gang-up to take Edo backward.\u00a0\u00a0He is actively supporting and sponsoring warlords, thugs and ill-intentioned politicians that are scheming to dislodge Governor Obaseki so they can have free access to the State\u2019s treasury.
\n\u201cWe are therefore calling on security agencies to quickly intervene, investigate and rein in Okunbo in his quest to set the State ablaze.\u201d
\nOlanipekun said that \u201carising from the foregoing, the captions and publications are most unfortunate, inaccurate, misleading, malicious, unfair, defamatory, libelous and incriminating.\u201d
\nAccording to him, \u201cYou are aware that our client is one of the most prominent citizens of Edo State and, indeed, a foremost Nigerian.\u00a0\u00a0He is an accomplished businessman, whose interests and achievements, transcend Edo State and Nigeria.
\n\u201cThrough hard work, excellence and the rare business acumen, our client has built and nurtured a diverse and vast business conglomerate, spanning different spheres of the Nigerian economy.
\n\u201cEdo State is one of the primary beneficiaries of our client\u2019s industry.\u00a0\u00a0He invests significantly in the welfare of the State and he employs several hundreds of Edo indigenes in his many businesses.
\n\u201cOur client has been meticulous in building his career with the hallmarks of diligence and integrity.\u00a0\u00a0His peace-loving nature has received global acclaim.\u00a0\u00a0Hence, he was recognized with a global peace award in 2019 by the Chairman of the Order of Lafayette awards in Geneva, Switzerland.
\n\u201cWe could refer to an endless list of numerous awards and achievements certifying our client as a man of integrity, industry, means and peace.\u00a0\u00a0It is instructive that some of these awards were conferred on our client by institutions based in Edo State.\u00a0\u00a0He is a respected Nigerian and philanthropist, who is held in high esteem within and beyond the shores of Nigeria.\u201d
\nHe stated further; \u201cAs a remote and direct result of the false, inaccurate, misleading and libelous publications, our client has been inundated with several enquiries from different parts of the world by concerned associates, clients, investors, friends and family members, demanding explanation and clarification about the criminal insinuations of the publications.
\n\u201cThis has caused serious embarrassment to our client\u2019s reputation and businesses.\u00a0\u00a0It has also caused our client undue apprehension, with implications to his health. Our client is not unmindful that these publications are calculated to instigate public antagonism against his person, family and business interests.\u201d
\nOlanipekun added: \u201cThe publications have caused considerable distress to our client, putting his distinguished and illustrious reputation at risk.\u00a0\u00a0In particular, you are aware that as with most businesses, our client\u2019s businesses thrive on goodwill.
\n\u201cThe negative impact of the publications makes it more tarnishing and grievous.\u00a0\u00a0Rather than establish the truth of the publications, they ere published without taking any steps that would have revealed their inaccuracy.
\n\u201cOur client notes with concern that the resources and insignia of the Edo State Government have been lent to this unworthy cause, which appears to serve no other purpose than to witch-hunt, malign and settle personal scores for incomprehensible reasons.
\n\u201cOur client has been projected as a criminal conspirator, who sponsors thugs and takes pleasure in unleashing mayhem and anarchy.\u00a0\u00a0He has also been portrayed as an undemocratic and anti-democratic Nigerian, with a dishonest and criminal source of income.
\n\u201cClearly, the publications have lowered the estimation\/perception of our client in the view of right-thinking and reasonable members of the society.\u201d
\nOlanipekun continued: \u201cPremised on the foregoing, we have further instruction of our client to demand a retraction of the publication and an unreserved apology.
\n\u201cThe said retraction and apology, apart from being in writing to our client in person, should be published in the same newspapers and given the same prominence as the defamatory caption\/publications.
\n\u201cWe also demand that the Edo State Government and or its representatives cease(s) and desist(s) from making any further libelous and defamatory publications in respect of our client.
\n\u201cFinally, our client demands the sum of N2,000,000,000 (two billion naira) for the embarrassment, inconvenience, losses and damages done to his person, character and interests.
\n\u201cIn the event that the Edo State Government fails to meet these legitimate demands of our client within a period of 3 (three) days from receipt of this letter, our firm instruction is to proceed with other legal means of seeking redress for our client.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u25aa\ufe0eGives three days\u2019 ultimatum for retraction of publications with apology \u25aa\ufe0eDemands N2b for embarrassment, losses, damages Billionaire son of the Edo soil, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo has taken a step further in his battle against his State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and government by beginning legal proceedings for libellous and defamatory publication against the government. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[352,1945,79],"class_list":["post-27468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-court","tag-hosa","tag-obaseki"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27468\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}