A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has threatened to sue a blogger and social media influencer, Japheth Omojuwa, for alleged impersonation.
Ezekwesili, in a letter by her lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, on behalf of Falana and Falana chambers, expressed shock she was listed as a director in Omojuwa’s media firm, Alpha Reach.
In her pre-action notice served on Mr Omojuwa by her lawyers, the former minister said she was shocked when told by a BuzzFeed reporter on March 30, 2021 that she was a director of Alpha Reach.
BuzzFeed, had exposed the role Omojuwa and other influencers allegedly played in the social media campaign for the release of alleged fraudster, Alex Saab, a Colombian who has been declared wanted in the United States and is facing extradition charges in Cape Verde.
The company, Alpha Reach, is believed to have played an active role in the campaign.
Twitter suspended the accounts of some of the influencers, alleging they promoted an unjust cause.
Checks with NG-Check.com, a platform that provides information on Nigerian companies, has Ms Ezekwesili on the list of Alpha Reach’s directors even though the statement registered that she was oblivious of this until she was contacted by a Buzzfeed reporter.
Ezekwesili said on Friday that Omojuwa must produce a public apology as well as send to her the financial correspondence of the company to be sure that her name was not forged further in any of the dealings.
The former minister, speaking through her counsel, Falana and Falana’s Chambers, stated this in a letter, titled, “Complaint over Fraudulent Use of the name of Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili as a director of the Alpha Reach Limited; Demand for full disclosure and public apology.”
Omojuwa, founder and Chief Strategist, Alpha Reach, Abuja, Nigeria, has been heavily criticised by the public since Thursday over a media campaign seeking the release of a Colombian citizen, Alex Saab, charged with money laundering.
Alpha Reach and Omojuwa allegedly paid other Nigerian influencers and mercantile journalists to drive the campaign for public sympathy for Alex Saab, who is under house arrest in Cape Verde and could be extradited to the US.
Mr Saab was arrested and detained for alleged corruption by Interpol and security operatives on a US arrest warrant in Cape Verde during a stopover to refuel while travelling from Venezuela to Iran in June 2020.
