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Attack on Daniel: Osoba set to go to court
By Bolaji Tunji, (Lagos) and
Segun Adeleye, (Abeokuta)
The last has not been heard of the face-off between Governor
Gbenga Daniel and his predecessor in office, Chief Olusegun Osoba as the latter
says he has concluded plans to go to court.
Speaking to Daily Independent, Osoba said he had already
briefed his lawyers and was awaiting a feed back from them on the accusation by
the Ogun State governor that he orchestrated the attack on him and his wife.
“I have spoken to my lawyer who is working on it,
they are preparing the brief which they have to submit to me, so that I can
look through it. You know he is a governor and he enjoys immunity and we have
to be careful about what we are going to do,” he said.
Latest reports from the Ogun State capital say Osoba has
already sued the state government. In a notice of intent, entitled
“Defamation of Character” dated October 28, 2004 addressed to Mr.
Niran Malaolu, the Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy,
former Governor Segun Osoba and a chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy
(AD), Chief Dipo Dina, through their lawyers, Adeniyi Akintola and Co. accused
the state government of causing announcements of damaging material on them
(Osoba, Dina). They are demanding retraction of the publication and a payment
of N500million damage.
Specifically, the law firm said on October, 19, 2004,
between 8.30p.m. and 9.00p.m. on OGTV and October 20, 2004 immediately after
8.00.am. news on OGBC, the commissioner alleged an act that their clients
instigated the attack on the Daniels.
The firm demanded retraction of the statements credited
to the Commissioner within seven days from October 28, 2004, even as it
demanded a letters of apology to both Osoba and Dina.
Governor Daniel had alleged that Osoba sponsored an attack
on his wife who was on her way to Ilaro for a children de-worming exercise. The
Governor, on getting the report, visited the town and was also accosted. In the
process, a 21-year old student of Ilaro Polytechnic, Azeez Shotayo, was shot
dead. Osoba, who had earlier visited the town on the same day was accused of
sponsoring the attack. This led to Osoba’s arrest on Friday, October 22
by Police from Zone A, Onikan, Lagos where he was detained for about two hours.
He was eventually released after signing a N50 million bail bond.
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