Former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has issued a demand for the Special Adviser to the current Governor on Research and Documentation, Mkor Aondona, to retract the allegations of financial irregularities he recently made against him. Ortom has called for the allegations to be proven in a court of competent jurisdiction or retracted immediately.
The demand comes in the form of a notice issued by Ortom’s legal counsel, Barrister S. E. Irabor. The letter, directed to Mkor Aondona and delivered through the Office of the Secretary to the Benue State Government, accuses Mkor of cyberstalking, criminal defamation, spreading malicious falsehoods, and publishing libelous content online against the former governor.
Irabor’s letter refers specifically to a post made by Mkor on his Facebook timeline on November 8, 2024, which was accompanied by the headline, “May God Almighty Never Allow The Wickedness Of An Ortom To Overshadow His Glory!” The post, according to the letter, was followed by a series of defamatory statements that painted Ortom in a negative light.
Irabor emphasized that Mkor’s publication on social media was a deliberate attempt to tarnish Ortom’s reputation. He stated that the malicious nature of the content caused significant harm to Ortom’s standing in the eyes of the public. The publication attracted considerable attention on social media, where users were encouraged to insult and malign the former governor.
Further, the letter notes that on November 9, 2024, Mkor continued to spread defamatory content against Ortom, even mocking the prospect of facing legal consequences for his actions. Irabor described the posts as “false, unsubstantiated, concocted, malicious, mischievous, wicked, offensive, in bad taste, and made in utmost bad faith” with the intent to humiliate Ortom and expose him to public ridicule and hatred.
In response to these allegations, the demand notice categorically denies Mkor’s claims, stating that the Ortom administration did not use any state funds for the proposed Cargo Airport at Daudu or the Igumale Cement Factory, nor did it pay for any memoranda of understanding (MOUs) related to those projects. Additionally, Ortom is not the owner of any water factory located along the River Benue, and he has never been involved in any tax evasion case, either within Benue State or beyond.
Irabor further clarified that Ortom never used imported industrial machinery intended for state projects for his personal benefit, as suggested by Mkor. The notice demands that Mkor issue a formal retraction and apology, both in writing and through public channels, including national newspapers and several television and radio stations, such as Arise News, Channels Television, AIT, TVC News, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Radio Benue, and Harvest FM Makurdi.
Additionally, Mkor is required to provide an undertaking to refrain from making any further defamatory publications about Ortom in the future. Lastly, the notice demands that Mkor pay N1 billion in damages, which will cover exemplary, aggravated, and general damages for the harm caused to Ortom’s reputation.
