Achike Udenwa seeks N5bn compensation and a retraction from Kenneth Okonkwo following blackmail claims.

Achike Udenwa

By Henry Umoru

Former governor of Imo State Achike Udenwa has given Kenneth Okonkwo an ultimatum of seven days to retract publication against him which he described as false, malicious and defamatory.

Udenwa through his lawyer, Soronnadi Njoku, SAN, is also demanding a public apology and payment of N5 billion as damages for the alleged injury to his reputation.

The demand was contained in a letter titled, “YOUR FALSE AND MALICIOUS PUBLICATION AGAINST HIS EXCELLENCY, CHIEF ACHIKE UDENWA:- DEMAND FOR RETRACTION, APPOLOGY, PAYMENT OF N5BN AS COMPENSATION TO HIM, AND AN UNDERTAKING NOT TO MAKE ANY FURTHER DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS AGAINST HIM issued issued by Njoku on behalf of the former Imo State Governor.

According to Njoku, ” As Counsel to His Excellency, Chief Achike Udenwa of Civic Centre Layout, Owerri, Imo State, your comments on, of, and concerning him which you made in your Channels Television Live interview, in the course of your speech in the program: “SUNRISE DAILY” on the 8th day of June 2026, has been brought to our attention.

“In the said interview, you stated thus:

“That is why the NDC has released a statement that its only the South East caucus of the party that was involved in such problems. Oyema Ugochukwu, Achike Udenwa, Peter Obi and other leaders of South East caucus were busy extorting the South East aspirants”. (underline are ours)

“As a Legal Practitioner which you claim to be, you know or ought to know the meaning of the word “EXTORT” and its derivative: “EXTORTING” (see THE CHAMBERS DICTIONARY, 10TH EDITION, PAGE 532)

“Our client, Chief Achike Uzoma Udenwa, was the Executive Governor of Imo State for TWO TERMS of FOUR YEARS EACH. Thereafter, he served as an HONOURABLE MINISTER in the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Throughout his many years of Public Services he has never been accused of corruption or any other crimes of any sort, including embezzlement of public funds or extortion. He has the distinction of being one of the very few former Governors and Ministers who DOES NOT HAVE ANY CORRUPTION CASE pending against him anywhere in Nigeria or even abroad.

“Most regrettably, your defamatory statement against him, accusing him of illegally securing money from aspirants by compulsion and violence, or wrongly and illegally obtaining money from those aspirants by compulsion or violence, which statement you made during a LIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMME broadcast both Nationally and Internationally, and which statement was subsequently published by numerous Media Houses, including DAILY POST, POINTBLANK NEWS, IGBERE TV, and several on-line platforms, like PHOENIX (https://phoenix-browser.com/FNmcYVvyRig), has greatly injured our client in his credit and reputation and portrayed him as a common criminal who abuses his position for personal monetary gains.

“As a Legal Practitioner you are supposed to be, you know or ought to know the legal consequences of publishing such a false information about a solid personality like Chief Achike Udenwa. Your Publication has greatly lowered his image in the eyes of right-thinking members of the Nigerian society, especially the citizens of Imo State, who watched you on CHANNEL TELEVISION and/or read your publication on the numerous Newspapers and Internet/Social Media Platforms where you were widely published. Of course, accusing him of the crime of extortion is clearly actionable per se.

“In the circumstance, we do hereby, on his instructions, give you SEVEN (7) DAYS from the date of this letter to WRITE A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER OF APOLOGY TO HIM, published in FIVE (5) NATIONAL DAILIES, as well as aired, PRIME TIME, in CHANNELS TELEVISION, wherein you will clearly, in unmistakable terms, retract your said publication against him, and giving an undertaking never to defame him ever again. We also demand the payment of the sum of N5BN as compensation to him to assuage for the injuries your said false publication has occasioned to him.”