Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has demanded N1bn in damages and an apology from a member of the party, Kassim Afegbua, over fraud allegations levelled against him. Secondus asked Afegbua to pay the damages, retract the statements and apologise within 48 hours or be ready to face a lawsuit, The Punch reported.
Legit.ng gathers that Secondus’ demands were contained in a letter by his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), dated Thursday, April 29, 2021, and addressed to Afegbua.
Afegbua was an aide to Adams Oshiomhole when he was the governor of Edo state but recently returned to the PDP. He had dragged Secondus to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged N10 billion fraud. In the petition, Afegbua had asked the anti-graft agencies to scrutinise the N10bn that allegedly accrued to the PDP from 2017 till date, especially the money that accrued from sales of nomination forms for different elections. Secondus’s lawyer said apart from the petition filed before the anti-graft agencies, Afegbua made some defamatory claims against the PDP chairman in a press statement he authored. According to him, Afegbua’s claims portrayed Secondus as a fraudulent man whose financial dealings are shady, PM News also reported. He added that the claims also portrayed the PDP chairman as a fraudster who is incapable of holding the office of the party’s national chairman.
