The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has threatened to drag former political ally, Kenneth Okonkwo, before the courts over allegations he described as false, malicious and defamatory.
Obi, through a pre-action notice issued by his lawyer, Alex Ejesieme (SAN), is demanding N5 billion in damages from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain over comments made during an appearance on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily programme.
The legal threat comes amid worsening relations between the two politicians, who were once prominent figures in the Labour Party before moving to the ADC. Obi later dumped the party and joined the NDC.
The controversy stems from claims made by Okonkwo during the television programme, where he alleged that Obi and members of the NDC South-East caucus collected N10 million from House of Representatives aspirants seeking party tickets.
Okonkwo further alleged that one of the aspirants, Obunike Ohaegbu, had provided him with evidence, including a payment receipt, purportedly showing that money was collected from aspirants with assurances of securing party tickets.
According to him, those who made the payments were eventually asked to participate in party primaries, contrary to their expectations.
The actor-turned-politician also alleged that Obi personally coordinated the compilation of candidates' names at a hotel in Abuja and submitted the list for party positions.
However, the allegations suffered a setback after Ohaegbu publicly distanced himself from the claims.
Appearing on the same Channels Television platform on Tuesday, Ohaegbu denied accusing Obi of demanding money from him or other aspirants.
He stated categorically that Obi never requested N10 million from him and that he never informed Okonkwo of any such transaction.
"I am telling you that Peter Obi never told me to pay N10 million. I never told Kenneth Okonkwo that Peter Obi, in any way, told me to pay N10 million," Ohaegbu said.
He also clarified that while there had been discussions about allegations surrounding a list allegedly prepared at Johnwood Hotel in Abuja, he never mentioned Obi's name in connection with the matter.
Reacting to the development, Obi maintained that the allegations were entirely fabricated and were aimed at tarnishing his reputation and public image.
In the letter, he argued that the statements portrayed him as a corrupt politician involved in bribery, extortion, fraud and other criminal activities.
Obi described the remarks as "grave, damaging and reckless imputations" capable of lowering his standing in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
He further accused Okonkwo of deliberately seeking to subject him to public ridicule, hatred and contempt through the statements.
As part of his demands, Obi requested a full retraction of the allegations and a public apology to be aired on Channels Television and published on all social media platforms operated by Okonkwo within seven days.
He also demanded N5 billion as compensation for the alleged injury caused to his reputation, alongside a written commitment that similar statements would not be made against him in the future.
The legal notice warned that failure to comply with the demands within the stipulated period would result in court action, including claims for aggravated and exemplary damages, injunctive reliefs, public retraction and the recovery of legal costs.
As of the time of filing this report, Okonkwo had not issued any public response to the allegations or the legal demands.
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