The Chairman of DAAR Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, has threatened to sue the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for including his name on the list of alleged looters.
Mohammed has recently published the names of people said to have looted the nation’s treasury while the Peoples Democratic Party was in government.
In the list, he claimed that Dokpesi corruptly received N2.1 billion from the Office of the National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Sambo Dasuki.
However, reacting to the claim against him, Dokpesi, in a letter by his counsel, Mike Ozekhome, said Mohammed should retract the statement in four newspapers and pay the sum of N500 million.
He said failure to meet the requirements, a N5 billion suit would be instituted against him.
Said Ozekhome: “Contrary to your derogatory, disparaging, mendacious and unrestrained defamatory statements, as published in various print, electronic and online media platforms, of and concerning our client, our client has never been associated with the looting of the public treasury.
“Before the court where he is currently standing trial on trumped up charges brought against him by your same federal government, he has categorically and unambiguously denied the said charges. At the ongoing trial which has been stalled serially by the federal government with series of requests for adjournment, our client has neither been found guilty nor convicted by the trial court or by any other court in Nigeria.
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“The brazen defamatory statements/ publications of alleged looting of the public treasury mentioned by you against our client are most damaging and clearly rubbish the hard-earned reputation of our client. Our client has since received several and unending phone calls, mails and visits from relatives, friends, associates, as well as other well meaning Nigerians, who have ceaselessly called to express their shock over the vile allegations in the said publications.
“Our client has suffered severe public odium, opprobrium, ridicule, psychological trauma, untold embarrassment and countless business losses consequent upon your reckless publication which has put him in bad light before reasonable members of the society.
”Unless you carry out the above minimal demands immediately, to redress the incalculable damage done to our client’s [image], we shall, without any further communication from us, commence legal action against you to redress your unrestrained and unwarranted assault against our client’s hard earned image and reputation.
“We shall, in such circumstances, be demanding for damages in the sum of N5 billion.”
