A FORMER National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Alkali, has slammed the sum of N5billion on ThisDay newspaper over what his lawyers said amounted to “public ridicule, odium and contempt” suffered by Alkali from an alleged false advertorial published by the paper in its April 10 edition.
In a letter signed by Alkali’s lawyer, Oloyede Hussain from Yusuf Ali & Co Chambers, the law firm demanded a retraction of the story within 14 days in addition to the above amount demanded from the paper over the publication.
It said that the PDP chieftain has suffered psychological torture due to the publication titled ‘Re- Appointment of Professor Rufai Alkali as the Pro- Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology Minna and Stunning Revelations of his Tenure.’
The law firm also said that it discovered that a faceless group known as ‘Concerned Citizens Forum’ and signed by one Mohammed Kolo John, was responsible for the piece.
The retraction and apology must be in form of an advertorial in ThisDay and other two daily newspapers accepted by the academic, it said.