The Edo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo has demanded the payment of N20 billion in damages from former National Chairman of the All progressives Congress (APC), Senator Adams Oshiomhole for malicious defamatory utterances aalegedly made against him last Saturday, at a political campaign rally in Benin City, the state capital.
Oshiomhole had reportedly accused Ighodalo of being the brain behind a ponzi scheme, ‘Planwell’, in which numerous Nigerians were defrauded of their hard earned funds.
In a letter dated 16th of September, 2024, and signed by Chief Ayo Asala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is of Ayo Asala and Associates, read:
“It is sad to note that despite your status as an elder and holder of a public office, you appear to have developed a pattern of spewing false statements in the public domain purely for the achievement of your political ends.
“This baseless, unfounded, false and malicious allegation has become another in a long line of such defamatory fabrications and statements made by you in respect of our client in the recent past.
“Our client is an accomplished Nigerian legal practitioner and a corporate leader whose impressive resume from birth up till the current day is entirely in the public domain and our client has absolutely no connection with and could never have been involved in any manner whatsoever with the purported ‘Planwell’ scheme with which you have seriously defamed our client’s reputation.
“It is clear that the fabrication of the unfounded and false story regarding the purported involvement of our client in the said ‘Planwell’ scheme or any other financial scheme whatsoever, is a figment of your imagination and a story fabricated purely for the purpose of denigrating the good character and reputation of our client for the achievement of the political purpose of advancing the sinking fortunes of your political party and candidate in the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial elections”.
He went on to say that Ighodalo has been inundated with calls from concerned members of the public, associates, acquaintances and so many people as a result of Oshiomhole’s accusations.
In consequence, the learned senior lawyer demanded “an immediate and unqualified retraction and apology for your false, defamatory and malicious statements which should be published in at least two national television networks and three nationally circulating newspapers.
“Pay to our client damages in the sum of N20 billion Naira for your false, defamatory and malicious statements referred to herein”.
The letter further asserted that failure to comply with the above demands will lead to legal actions without further notice.
Ighodalo has consistently maintained that he does not know anything about the said ‘Planwell’, which his political opponents had been trying so viciously to tie around his neck.
