Director-General of Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), Ify Onyegbule has sued an online news platform, Nairametrics for defamation.
Gatekeepers News reports that Nairametrics through Zainab Iwayemi on 26/11/2022 used Onyegbule picture as Mrs. Victoria Yemisi Imasi’s, a wanted person in one of its published articles.
Imasi, CEO of Yellowpoint Group had been declared wanted by the Nigeria Police Force for fraud.
Onyegbule through her lawyer, Ogochukwu M. Chikezie stated that Nairametrics and Zainab Iwayemi fraudulently misrepresented facts on several social media platforms.
Chikezie wrote, “a result of this misrepresentation, other social media platforms subsequently followed in that pattern copying verbatim the post made by Nairametrics and Zainab Iwayemi.
“Your represented facts have succeeded in grossly assassinating and bastardizing the character and reputation of our client who aside having created an ideal niche for herself in the media industry through relentless hardwork and determination for over 23years of being in the media space across different States in Nigeria, recently became appointed the Director General of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation by the Executive Governor of Imo State — His Excellency Hope Uzodinma.
“This appointment came after our client — a media trainer has diligently served as the former Station Manager at Rockcity FM, Abeokuta, South West, Nigeria; General Manager at Wave FM, Port-Harcourt, South-South, Nigeria; AG. General Manager, Reach FM, Owerri, SouthEast, Nigeria, General Manager of Toast FM, Owerri; to mention but a few.”
She added that “It is therefore beyond saying that your publication falsely and libelously portrayed our client as the fraudster that duped people of their hard-earned money.”
Chikezie, therefore, noted that Onyegbule has requested a “retraction of the said publication, an unreserved public apology in the said media, and the sum of 100,000,000.00(One Hundred million naira) as damages within the next 48 hours upon receipt of our mail, for the reputational and psychological damages your publications have done to our client.”
She added, “Whilst we hope you will allow wise counsel to prevail by complying with our client’s demand, we urge a much more high level of circumspection from an organization such as yours next time.
“Failure to comply with our demands, we shall have no other option but to employ every instrumentality of the law both legal and equitable permissible by law in protection of our client’s legal rights, and this we shall do without further recourse to you, whilst bringing the matter before the court of public opinion.”
