The lawyer to Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has refuted claims by a former commissioner-turned-blogger, Sir Don Ubani, that he has not been served a notice regarding an alleged defamatory publication against the governor.
Ubani, who now runs a blog, published an article on September 26, 2024, accusing Governor Otti of acquiring two hotels in Umuahia.
Ubani claimed that Governor Otti acquired Comfort Hotel and Luxurious Maget Hotel through proxies.
But in response, Otti’s legal team sent a demand letter to Ubani on October 2, 2024, seeking a retraction, public apology, and N5bn in damages.
Ubani, however, denied receiving the notice in a blog post on Saturday and urged the governor to leave him alone.
But in a statement on Sunday, Ajala described Ubani’s claim as false, arguing that the demand notice was served electronically on October 2, 2024 via Ubani’s email address provided on his blog.
Ajala recalled that Ubani had provided his email address as “[email protected]” in the article he published against Governor Otti.
He cited legal provisions, including the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, the Evidence Act of 2023, and the FCT High Civil Procedure Rules of 2018, which recognise electronic service of notices.
Quoting the senior advocate, “The news report by Don Ubani that he has not been served with the Demand Letter by Counsel to Dr. Alex Otti to retract his libelous online publication made on 26/9/2024 is False
“It should be recalled that the defamatory publication by Don Ubani on 26/9/2024 was made ONLINE wherein, he advertised his email as ‘[email protected].”
Ajala added, “Our letter dated October 2, 2024 in the last paragraph expressly stated that Don Ubani will be served via his email address ‘[email protected] as indicated on his defamatory online publication of 26/9/2024.”
Meanwhile, Ubani hinted at why he wrote the alleged libelous article against Governor Otti.
“Sir Don Ubani also wants to use this opportunity to ask Governor Otti to leave him alone. Sir Ubani recalls that of all the Members of Abia State Executive Council that served in the immediate-past Government of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who were duly bequeathed Cars, it was only Sir Ubani, a prominent Opposition Leader, that Governor Otti impounded his Car.
“Sir Don Ubani also states that despite a Court of Competent Jurisdiction issuing an Order that the Car be released, the Governor vowed that the Car will only be released over his death,” he wrote.