Rabiu Omaku, the Nasarawa State Correspondent for Universal Reporters, has been sued by Dr. Justina Anjiode Kotso, the Rector of Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia, for allegedly writing fraudulent articles disparaging her and the school.
In a report titled Rector IMAPOLY (Formerly Nasarawa State Polytechnic) In The Eyes Of The Storm As Allowances Of SIWES Students Disappeared Into Thin Air, Omaku had, among other things, accused the Rector of embezzling funds meant for graduates of the polytechnic who had taken part in the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme on September 18, 2023.
In an interview with reporters in Lafia on Friday, Dr. Kotso stated that the story had seriously damaged her reputation and made many people in the state doubt her honesty.
She claimed that this prompted her to bring the issue to the notice of her attorneys.
In addition to requesting N100 million in compensation, the Rector is requesting that the alleged defamatory report be removed from the Universal Reporters website and that the report be retracted within seven days of the notice, according to a letter served to Rabiu Omaku by M. I. Dikko chambers and obtained by our correspondent.
“We write this final demand/retraction notice on behalf of our client, Dr. Justina Anjiode Kotso, the Rector of Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic Lafia, Nasarawa State, formerly known as Nasarawa State Polytechnic. We sincerely hope that this notice will be received with the necessary urgency.”
“Our client has informed us, and we have reviewed supporting documentation, that on September 18, 2023, you posted a defamatory item on the website of Universal Reporters, an online news and media source.
“We would want to declare unequivocally that our client is an exceptional academic and administrator who has greatly benefited from the nation’s educational system.
“And she has no desire whatsoever to undermine the system in which she has established a name for herself and won both national and international acclaim.
“We require that you issue an apology and retract the statement as soon as possible on the Universal Reporters website, disseminating it extensively on social media.
“We require that you expeditiously cause an apology or retraction to be published in one local newspaper and at least two national newspapers in Lafia, Nasarawa State. We further request that you reimburse our client with the entire amount of N100,000,000 (one hundred million naira).
Part of the letter said, “We shall have no choice but to commence both criminal and civil actions against you in competent courts of law should you fail to meet our client’s simple demands within seven days.”
