The former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has threatened to slam Nigeria’s Senate President Godswill Akpabio for defamation.
Emefiele made the statement due to the recent claims of Akpabio, who said the administration of President Bola Tinubu is having a tough time identifying which of the crimes to charge the CBN boss of.
Recall that the embattled apex bank governor is currently facing fresh charges after he was accused of falsifying the signature of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on February 8, 2023, Emefiele conspired with an Odoh Ocheme—who is currently at large—to collect $6.2 million from the CBN, with claims that the SGF had requested it through a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref Number SGF.43/L.01/.
Akpabio made the claims on Sunday during a thanksgiving service at Koroma, in the Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to the senate president, Tinubu inherited the economic mess made by the former apex bank boss.
In a letter sent through his lawyer, Mathew Burkaa, and addressed to Akpabio, the embattled Governor requested a written apology.
He demanded that the letter should be published in the media or risk being slammed with a N25 billion defamation suit.
“We are solicitors to Dr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (hereinafter referred to as “Our Client”), on whose brief and instruction, we write this letter. The above statement, whether taken in their ordinary, figurative, or literal meaning portrayed our Client as:
“The cause of the entire hardship in Nigeria today is as a result of the policies of the previous administration.
“A serial offender whose action is responsible for all the hardship experienced by Nigerians today.
“A person who has committed offences that are so numerous that the government is confused as to which of the offences to prefer a charge against him.”
Emefiele added that “It is pursuant to the above and without delving into the matter presently pending in Court that Our Client has instructed that we write to Your good offices and demand the immediate retraction of Your statement which has gone viral and is considered defamatory of Our Client
“These baseless and false allegations defame the character of Our Client and have also caused him great pains and embarrassment as it has lowered his esteem before the right-thinking members of the Society in addition to the obvious odium and opprobrium from the unsuspecting members of the Society as a result of the falsity contained in that statement.
“We, therefore have Our Client’s further instruction to demand from you an unreserved apology in writing, published and circulated by the same medium with which you have defamed his character, and the sum of N25,000,000,000 as reasonable compensation for the willful and unjustifiable denigration of his hard-earned reputation. If you fail, refuse, or neglect to comply with this legitimate demand, Our Client will be at liberty to seek the appropriate redress available to him under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”