Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has responded to the 72-hour ultimatum and demands from Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate in the 2023 elections.
Onanuga, using the social media platform X, expressed his readiness to face legal action. He stated, “I am still waiting for the letter from Peter Obi’s lawyer threatening a N5 billion suit and demanding an apology to Peter Obi over the planned ‘revolution’. Let me just tell Obi and his lawyer: I am not afraid of any legal action. We shall meet in court.”
This response follows Obi’s legal team giving Onanuga an ultimatum to retract his alleged defamatory statement, issue a public apology, and pay N5 billion in damages. Obi’s counsel, Chief Alex Ejesieme, SAN, claimed that Onanuga’s statement linking Obi to a planned mass protest is false and has damaged his reputation. The legal team demanded that the retraction and apology be published in four national dailies: Vanguard, THISDAY, Punch, and The Cable.
Onanuga’s statement, made on July 20, 2024, alleged that Obi’s supporters were planning mayhem and that Obi should be held responsible for any resulting anarchy.
Obi’s legal team argued that the publication caused serious emotional injury to Obi, considering his decades of exemplary service in both private and public life.
