Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has filed a lawsuit against the spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Uche Aguoru, for accusing the governor of facilitating a plot to destabilise the APC in the South-eastern state.
Mr Otti is a member of the Labour Party under which he won the Abia governorship election in 2023.
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Alleged plot to destabilise Abia APC
Mr Aguoru, in a statement issued on 31 May, claimed that an unnamed business man, former member of the APC and close friend of Mr Otti was used to pay N5 billion to unnamed individuals in the APC Headquarters to destabilise the party.
The spokesman also alleged that a portion of the N5 billion was given to an unnamed frontline aspirant within the APC with the “sole objective of creating confusion, sowing division, and undermining the unity of our great party.”
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He then accused Governor Otti’s administration of “deploying taxpayers’ monies on political misadventures” instead addressing the needs of Abia people.
Pre-action notice and N5bn lawsuit
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Otti had, in June, issued a pre-action notice to Mr Aguoru in which the governor asked the APC spokesman to retract the statement, apologise to him and provide details of the individuals involved in the transaction or face lawsuit.
In a letter dated 3 June 2026 from his solicitors, Ken Ahia & Associates, the Abia governor demanded the fulfilment of the conditions within seven days from the receipt of the letter.
After failing to fulfil the conditions within the time, Mr Otti then filed the lawsuit against Mr Aguoru at the Abia State High Court in Umuahia.
According to a writ of summons seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Otti filed the suit against Mr Aguoru on 3 July 2026.
In the writ of summons, Mr Otti said he filed the lawsuit against the APC spokesman as a private citizen, not in his capacity as a state governor or in exercise of any of his executive functions.
The Abia governor stressed that the lawsuit followed his conviction that Mr Aguoru had “unlawfully attacked his reputation.”
Prayers
Mr Otti asked the court to declare that Mr Aguoru’s Facebook publications on 31 May 2026 were false, malicious and defamatory of him (Otti).
The governor appealed to the court to declare that the publications “meant and were understood to mean that the Claimant (Mr Otti) is corrupt, dishonest, guilty of diversion of public funds, political bribery, abuse of office, fraud, manipulation of the judiciary, abuse of state institutions and unfit to hold public office.”
He prayed the court to order the APC spokesman to permanently delete and retract all the publications in all his social media platforms, publish an unreserved apology in at least two national newspapers and on Facebook within 30 days of the court’s judgement on the matter.
Mr Otti also pleaded with the court to order the APC spokesman to publish the court’s judgement on his Facebook page and keep same pinned and visible for a period of 30 consecutive days from the date of publication.
The governor further asked the court to issue an interlocutory injunction, restraining Mr Aguoru or his agents from further publishing said defamatory allegations or any similar allegations concerning him (Otti).
He prayed the court to compel the APC spokesman to pay him N5 billion as general and exemplary damages.
Mr Otti also told the court to order the defendant to pay him the cost of the suit.
The governor equally prayed for a post-judgement interest on any damages to be awarded at the rate of 10% per annum from the date of the judgement until final liquidation.
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