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AAU Former Acting VC To Sue Trojan News … Lawyers Give Pre-action Notice
By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
The immediate past Acting Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Professor Asomwan Sonnie Adagbonyin, has conveyed an intention to institute a legal action against Trojan News, an online publication, for launching and sustaining “a fierce and relentless attack on his person and integrity” through their publications.
Making the decision of their client known, the firm of A.O.O. Ekpu and Co said Professor Adagbonyin had previously ignored those injurious and defamatory publications from Trojan News in the two and half years he served as Acting Vice-Chancellor because he thought it was “a part of the burden of leadership.”
The law firm said that since leaving office in September 2024, Trojan News had not relented in their determination to slur their client.
The firm cited a publication dated 11th October, 2024 captioned: “Disgraced Former AAU AVC, Prof
Adagbonyin Employed Ifeanyi Essu HOD Nursing Science with Honorary Ph.D Certificate” as the more recent attack on his person, noting that alongside this caption the publication inserted a clear photograph of their client “in order to erase any iota of doubt about who the publication was referring to.”
Professor Adagbonyin himself considers these claims to be false and states that he was never disgraced out of office. According to him, “I was never accused, tried or found guilty of any wrongdoing, either formally or informally, nor was I issued a sack letter from the office I occupied as AVC either by the Council or the government that appointed me ab initio. I stepped aside as part of an envisaged transition and the Chairman of the Governing Council, on behalf of the Council, said that much.”
In the letter dated 25th October, 2024 to the publisher of Trojan News conveying their Client’s intention to sue, the law firm of A. O. O. Ekpu & Co averred that the publisher of Trojan News spread false information to discredit their client and undermine his integrity. It affirmed that the online news outfit made other claims “in the body of the publication against and concerning our client, such as: ‘This is one of the fraudulent transactions of Prof Adagbonyin…’” The lawyers also quote the Trojan News publication as making wide, unverified and unsubstantiated claim that “Prof Adagbonyin’s tenure was characterised by litanies of fraudulent transactions ranging
from the termination of employment of qualified staff, financial irregularities and recruitment
of unqualified staff which he claims are more loyal to him than the qualified staff.”
The law firm flayed the online publication’s claim that Professor Adagbonyin “illegally recruited Mr. Essu and made him a senior lecturer the same day”.
Going further, A.O.O Ekpu & Co. declared: “Our client maintains that the publication is materially false. Ifeanyi Essu’s appointment as Acting Head of Department of Nursing Science was not on the basis of an honorary degree as the University does not recognise honorary degrees for any purpose whatsoever. Mr Essu was never appointed as a senior lecturer neither is a Ph.D a requirement to act as a Head of Department. By your assertions, you portrayed our client as a dishonest, incompetent,
hypocritical and fraudulent person
Our client has been gravely injured as a result of your said publication. He has been exposed to public odium and opprobrium.”
The publisher of Trojan News has 14 days from receiving the letter to issue “an appropriate apology and cause same to be published in the manner acceptable to our client.”
He is also to pay to Professor Adagbonyin through the legal office the sum of fifty million naira (N50,000,000)”, as damages to avoid a law suit, A.O.O. Ekpu & Co said.
