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Ighodalo to Sue Oshiomole over ‘False, Defamatory and Malicious’ Comments, Demands N20bn
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo, Mr. Asue Ighodalo, has asked his lawyers to institute a suit against Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, over defamatory allegations.
Ighodalo said Oshiomole had accused him of involvement in “Planwell,” a ponzi scheme that surfaced in Edo state in the early 1990s.
“People of my age and even younger have not forgotten how Asue Ighodalo and all his associates were involved in what they call Planwell,” Oshiomole said during a campaign rally on Saturday.
“Planwell was set up as an institution where you deposit 10,000 in the morning by tomorrow it becomes 15,000, and after six months, people were defrauded, and the institution disappeared. And they became rich, and Edo people became pauperised.”
In a response to the allegations through his counsel, Ayo Asala, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ighodalo described Oshiomole’s comment as “false, defamatory, and malicious”.
“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,” a letter by Ighodalo’s lawyer and addressed to Oshiomhole reads.
“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.
“Our client has been inundated with calls and other contacts from concerned members of the public who heard your said allegations on electronic and social media, as a result of which our client has suffered enormous unwarranted reputational damage arising from the lies and baseless fabrications of which you have become the purveyor.”
Ighodalo is demanding “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 20 billion Naira for your false, defamatory, and malicious statements referred to herein,” the letter further stated.
“Take notice that it is our client’s instructions that we immediately institute appropriate proceedings against you for damages in the sum of twenty (20) billion Naira (N20,000,000,000.00) for your said false, malicious, irresponsible, and damaging statements made against our client without any foundation whatsoever in fact.
“Further take notice that such action will be instituted without further notice or correspondence to you in that regard whatsoever.”
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has addressed the circumstances behind the extended delay at Al Abraq International Airport, where the Super Eagles of Nigeria were held hostage for over 15 hours, and attributed the situation to routine air traffic and logistical challenges rather than deliberate foul play.
In a statement on Monday via X, the LFF sought to clarify the events, emphasising that the diversion of the Nigerian team’s flight was not intended as a hostile act.
“We firmly reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation,” the LFF said.
Meanwhile, in the most recent development, Super Eagles players and officials have been reportedly set to depart from Libya.
This was disclosed by a sports enthusiast, identified as Pooja Media, via his X handle on Monday, according to The Punch report.
He wrote, “Super Eagles players and all officials are boarding to fly out of Libya to Nigeria. Thank God.”
Confirming this, a player, Bruno Onyemaechi, wrote, “Me and Libya, I don wash my hands commot. Nothing concerns me and una again. Thank God I’m going back.”
The team, held at an abandoned airport for over 15 hours, has resolved not to play the match, citing safety concerns.
Nigeria Football Federation director of communications, Ademola Olajire, confirmed that the team would fly back home.
“Players have resolved not to play the match any longer as NFF officials are making plans to fly the team back home,” Olajire stated.
Four Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than 60 people injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central-northern Israel, according to first responders and the Israeli military.
The incident late Sunday local time is one of the bloodiest attacks on Israel since the beginning of the war last October.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, launched by Hezbollah hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina, a town north of Tel Aviv that lies some 40 miles from the Lebanese border.
The four killed soldiers were all 19 years old and in infantry training at the base, the IDF said, adding that eight other soldiers were severely injured.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service, a total of 61 people were wounded in the attack, with dozens still hospitalized.
The news comes after Hezbollah said Sunday it had fired a swarm of attack drones on an Israeli infantry training camp in Binyamina.
The Lebanon-based militant group said the attack was in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon Thursday.
Hezbollah said it had targeted the Golani Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that has been deployed in southern Lebanon. The claim of responsibility for the attack came shortly after the militant group released an audio message from its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah calling on its members to “defend your people, your family, your nation, your values and your dignity.”
Earlier on Sunday, the IDF said it had intercepted a Lebanon-launched UAV without specifying where. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same incident that led to the injuries.
Israeli air defence systems tend to be very reliable, but on Sunday, there were no reports of alerts in the Binyamina area at the time of the attack, raising questions of how the drone was able to penetrate so deep into the Israeli territory without being spotted.
Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets toward the northern Israeli towns of Nahariya and Acre to engage Israel’s air defense systems, while simultaneously launching the drone swarm.
“These drones broke through the Israel defense radars without detection and reached its target at the training camp of the elite Golani Brigade in Binyamina,” Hezbollah said.
The IDF’s top spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military would investigate how the drone got through without raising an alarm at the base.
“We will learn from and investigate the incident,” he said in a video statement from the base. “The threat of UAVs is a threat we are dealing with since the beginning of the war. We need an improvement to our defense,” he added.
Source: CNN
The Court of Appeal has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court, affirming Martins Amaehwule as the rightful Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Recall that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, had challenged the judgement of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, which affirmed Amaehwule’s leadership.
This ruling is a victory for the camp of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who has been at odds with Governor Fubara.
Governor Fubara has also been ordered to re-present the 2024 budget to the Amaehwule-led House of Assembly.
