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A Delta State indigene, Oge Okonkwo Osinkor, has been slammed with a Five Hundred Million Naira (N500m) lawsuit for criticising Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and the Executive Chairman of Delta State Oshimili North Local Government Council Hon. Louis Ndukwe on Facebook and WhatsApp, XCLUSIVE MAGAZINE can authoritatively report.
The Suit (No: Aku/11/2016), which was exclusively obtained by XCLUSIVE MAGAZINE, was filed on 10 February 2016 by Hon Ndukwe, who alleged that Mr Osinkor, in his post on Facebook and in WhatsApp Group on 27 January 2016, using the name Daddy O Concept, accused him of looting up to fifty million Naira (N50m) from the Council covers and using some of the looted funds to host Senator Nwaoboshi in his home and to bankroll the extravagant thanksgiving party organised by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
On Sunday, 13 Dec. 2015, Senator Nwaoboshi, popularly called Oracle by his political admirers, threw a lavish thanksgiving party to celebrate his victory at the Senate elections. The event was attended by the Delta State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and many other dignitaries.
Ndukwe is a well-known political son of Nwaoboshi. In fact, he was railroaded into the Oshimili North LG top seat by Senator Nwaoboshi with his powerful and well oiled Tripod Agenda machinery. After his thanksgiving event, there were loud whispers that Senator Nwaoboshi had impressed on his protégé to part with a handsome amount of Council money to support the event.
Chairman Ndukwe claims that the purported “libellious” Facebook and WhatsApp posts by Mr Osinkor, which were “read by millions of people all over the world,” have “greatly destroyed, injured and lowered” his reputation.
Apart from asking for the sum of N500m as damages, Hon Ndukwe is also seeking the court to restrain Mr Osinkor from further publications of any libelious materials against him and demanding a letter of apology from Mr Osinkor to be published in six national newspapers namely, The Sun, Guardian, Vanguard, Pointer, Tribune and Punch.
XCLUSIVE MAGAZINE understands that Mr Osinkor is yet to respond to the writ of summons. When we contacted him, Mr Osinkor declined to go into details of the case as the matter is already in court. He, however, revealed that the over twenty page document was already been pored over by his lawyers and would respond accordingly.
A lawyer, who has made many representations at the Akwukwu Igbo court, told XCLUSIVE MAGAZINE that by using a court located in the capital of Oshimili North LG, Ndukwe has deployed an aged-long political strategy used by many powerful Oshimili North politicians to get one over their political rivals or perceived enemies.
He cited as a recent example the case of the Delta Chief Whip Barrister Princess Ajudua who scampered to the High court Registry Akwukwu-Igbo Delta State on Monday, 6 July 2015 and obtained an order of interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Police from arresting her, her husband Barrister Fred Ajudua and 14 others being fingered in the murder of one Emeka Onianwa on the day of the last Delta House of Assembly elections.
The N500m libel suit has been widely condemned by many political stakeholders in Delta State and on social media as an ill-advised attempt by Ndukwe to stifle opinion from the opposition and to deflate attention from the massive corruption going on in the Council.
“Ndukwe has been getting bad press recently particularly on social media. And the truth is that he has not comported himself properly considering the poor manner he has been managing the Council finances and affairs. I think that this new law suit filed against Oge is a weak attempt to scare social media critics,” one of the State political stakeholders said.
XCLUSIVE MAGAZINE gathered from sources very close to the Council boss that because of the negative reactions trailing the lawsuit, there has been intense pressure on Ndukwe from many quarters, including Senator Nwaoboshi, to withdraw the case and seek amicable settlement out of court.
Attempts to reach Hon Ndukwe was unsuccessful.
Source: Xclusiv Magazine
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