Kenneth Okonkwo rejects defamation claim by Peter Obi

Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has rejected a demand by Peter Obi for a retraction, public apology, and N5 billion damages over alleged defamations made regarding the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) primary elections

Obi, through his lawyer Alex Ejesieme (SAN), had issued a pre-action notice to Okonkwo, describing his claims as false, malicious, and defamatory, and demanding that he retract them, apologise publicly, and pay N5 billion in damages.

The dispute stems from Okonkwo’s interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he alleged that some aspirants in the NDC were asked to pay money to secure party tickets.

In his response dated June 16 and issued through his solicitors at Supreme God Chambers, Okonkwo firmly rejected the allegations and said he would not retract his comments.

“The kernel of your letter is that our Client defamed your Client through the interview on Channels Television on 8 June 2026,” his lawyers wrote.

“Our Client denies that he defamed your Client in any manner whatsoever and expressly assert that his positon on the issues he expressed reflects the true positon of the matters so reflected.”

Okonkwo maintained that his comments were based on information he received from Obunike Ohaegbu, an NDC House of Representatives aspirant from Anambra State, as well as other party members and sources.

According to his legal team, Ohaegbu approached Okonkwo seeking assistance to recover N10 million he allegedly paid to the party during the nomination process.

The lawyers stated that Ohaegbu believed the payment had secured him the party ticket, but he was later instructed to participate in direct primaries instead.

The response further alleged that Ohaegbu held Obi responsible for the situation and encouraged Okonkwo to make the matter public.

Okonkwo’s lawyers also referenced complaints from other aspirants, including OAU Onyema, a former senatorial aspirant in Enugu State, who allegedly had similar grievances about payments made during screening and nomination processes.

The letter alleged that some aspirants paid various sums during the process and later felt misled by party officials.

His legal team argued that Okonkwo acted within his rights as a lawyer, politician, and public affairs analyst in raising the allegations publicly.

“Our Client stands by the truth of all he declared on Channels TV,” the lawyers stated.

“The whole idea of his speaking on Channels TV, which information he received from the aspirants, NDC, and other Nigerians, is to expose transactional politics, ticket racketeering, extortion of aspirants, misleading representations, false pretense, undue influence and coercive pressure.”

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