Following a defamatory article posted on www.beats-onit.com by Mr. Uzor Chikere about Entertainment entrepreneur Mr. Efe Omorogbe, the latter and his legal advisers have made a move to sue the blogger in a N200 Million lawsuit, for defamation of character/ libel.
The article titled – “Bombshell, how Efe Omorogbe collected N9 million interest-free loan from COSON in 2 months” posits that Efe Omorogbe collected interest-free loans from Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) in the short period he held sway at the collective management organisation as chairman and was published on the blog on April 8, 2019.
Omorogbe through his lawyers, B. E. Ehiwele and Co is demanding immediate retraction, formal apology and the sum of N200,000,000.00 in settlement for the story and a series of other articles published “with the clearly malicious intention to damage the reputation of the respected creative entrepreneur and leading figure in the founding of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the journalist will be slapped with a lawsuit if he fails to meet the demands within a 2-week period”, he said.
Omorogbe explained that this move has become necessary in the light of constant libellous attacks directed at him since early 2018.
“Upon receipt of the regulator’s position on the illegality of the resolutions that purportedly reinstated Tony Okoroji after his December 7, 2017 sacking, Omorogbe convened a board meeting on March 6, 2018 in his capacity as legal chairman. That board meeting which held at the main entrance of COSON House because the management had locked out the directors triggered a series of lawsuits and the eventual suspension of the operating licence of COSON.”
“Uzor Chikere and his news website, beats-onit.com, curiously adopting self-appointed role of Okoroji’s cheer leader have subjected Efe Omorogbe to a barrage of attacks depending mainly on half-truths and blatant lies to malign his character and public image,” his legal council stated.
According to Omorogbe, against the basic ethics of the journalism profession, Uzor Chikere has repeatedly published false and maliciously skewed stories without extending him (Efe Omorogbe), the right to state his side of the story in reaction to whatever his sources had alleged.
“The day of reckoning seems to have arrived for the veteran journalist who may now have to defend his statements in court,” Efe concluded.