The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagun, has threatened to sue a lawyer and a rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, over allegations bordering on defamation.
Also, the Acting National Secretary of PDP, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, threatened to drag Adeyanju to court on civil and criminal litigations over the alleged defamatory remarks.
Messrs Damagun and Anyanwu, through their counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, asked Adeyanju to retract the statements and tender apology in national dailies and other social media platforms to avert the looming legal tussle.
The PDP chair and secretary made this known in two separate letters and the acknowledged copies made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.
While Mr Damagun’s letter was dated and received on Dec. 4 by Adeyanju, Anyanwu’s letter was dated and received Dec. 5.
One of the letters was titled: “Demand for the Immediate Retraction of the Defamatory Statements Made Against Amb. Umar Iliya Damagun, the Acting National Chairman of PDP on Social Media Platforms: With A Call for a Corresponding Apology.”
The letter, signed by Israel Ujah, a lawyer in the law firm of Usman, had alleged that Adeyanju intentionally made some inflammatory and derogatory remarks against the persons of Damagun and Anyanwu.
The lawyer said it was done, particularly with the underhanded motive of disparaging and assassinating the duo’s reputation before their teaming supporters, party members and other members of the society whose estimation of them was very high and admirable.
Mr Ujah accused Adeyanju of describing the PDP national chair on a podcast interview as a “Tea man who goes to serve tea in Femi Gbajabiamila’s House.”
The lawyer equally alleged that Adeyanju described Anyanwu as a “Kilishi Man” who goes to serve “Kilishi” at the residence of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, in the interview.
Mr Ujah said Mr Adeyanju, in the interview, said: “This current PDP is in the pocket of Nyesom Wike at the national level.
Mr Ujah further accused Adeyanju of alleging that Damagun and Anyanwu had failed to lead PDP as credible opposition party in the country.
“By the tenor of your unsubstantiated and defamatory publication, you went on to discourage the members of the public from patronising and holding our client in trust.
”You clothed him with a toga of being a ‘tea server’ and infantile personality who is not worthy of any political validation and patronage.
“We wish to remind you that your right to freedom of speech does not extend to the prism of your catalog of the unwarranted verbal onslaught against the person of our client.
“Your narrative regarding the PDP National Chairman ‘serving tea’ at Femi Gbajabiamila’s residence is a figurative critique of the perceived lack of strong opposition from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the current government.
“By necessary implication, all these statements were intentionally made by you to drop our client’s popularity amongst his teaming supporters and party members, and to also stain his political career ambition.
“Your defamatory statements have exposed our client to serious political embarrassment, psychological trauma, and unquantifiable humiliation.
“We are not unmindful of the fact that your distasteful remarks were sponsored by our client’s political opponent and bearing in mind your selfish interest.
“It is against the above background that we hereby demand an immediate retraction of the above defamatory statements — Podcast interview made against our client on various social media within three days of the receipt of this letter.
“We further demand that your retraction should be accompanied by a statement of apology to be published in the national dailies and other social media.
“Failure on your part to toe the path of honour in this regard; we shall be left with no option but to explore the available remedies in protecting our client’s constitutional rights within the legal parameters.
“This shall include both civil and criminal litigations.
“Take final notice, that this last resort shall be without further notice to you and shall be done with all the attendant publicity.
“A word is enough for the wise!” Mr Ujah concluded in one of the letters.