Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, asking him to probe a former presidential aide, Jackson Ude, who alleged he was given N4 billion from N39 billion the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered from looters.
The petition dated July 8, 2020, entitled, ‘Criminal Defamation of the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), GCON by Jackson Ude,’ was written on his behalf by his lawyer, Bayo Osipitan.
In the petition, the Vice-President said Jackson Ude, also the publisher of Pointblank News authored a story in which it was alleged that the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, currently facing a Presidential probe, told the investigative panel he gave N4bn to Osinbajo.
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The Vice-President, who had earlier denied the allegation, said Ude was in the habit of publishing malicious articles against his person, some of the printed copies of past publications he attached to the petition.
Likewise, Osinbajo said Ude had likened him to the alleged transnational scammer, Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi, by calling him ‘Hush-bajo.’
Consequently, Osinbajo, who said the Ude’s articles and misrepresentations were defamatory and capable of bringing him to ridicule before members of the public, called on the IG to probe the blogger with a view to prosecuting him for criminal defamation.
The petition read in part, “These vicious and malicious publications are meant to achieve one objective only, to present to his readership and others (Nigerians and foreigners) that our client is a dishonest and disloyal public officer and consequently unfit for the position of Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria he is occupying.
“We are of the view that unless an action for criminal defamation is commenced against the said Mr. Jackson Ude, he will continue to use his social media platform to publish materials that are false and criminally defamatory of our client’s reputation.
“In view of the above, we humbly request that you cause the above allegations made against our client to be investigated and if the suggested investigation confirms our complaint of the falsehood of these allegations, to initiate criminal proceedings pursuant to the provisions of Sections 391-395 of the Penal Code Act for criminal defamation against the said Jackson Ude.”
Ude, who is based in the United States, replying to the petition against him, said, he was not afraid of Osinbajo in a tweet.
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He tweeted: “I am not afraid of Osinbajo and his minions. If he indeed wants to go to court, he needs to resign first and sue me. He cannot be VP and be using state resources to intimidate the judiciary. He cannot wave immunity that he didn’t confer on himself. Osinbajo should resign first.”
In another tweet, he said: “Osinbajo should have used the U.S. Police, FBI or even the CIA to charge me for criminal defamation. Using the Nigerian Police is a waste of poor Nigerian taxpayers money. Except his aim is to arrest me in Nigeria, lock me up forever…”
