The suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has threatened to drag British Broadcasting Corporation to court over alleged defamation.
The suspended minister claimed that the media firm’s report was defamatory to her person.
In a letter from her lawyer, Chikaosolu Ojukwu, a senior advocate of Nigeria, addressed to the BBC’s offices in Abuja and London, Edu disputed the report that N30 billion was recovered from her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The lawyer stated that the report has harmed Edu’s reputation and has caused her distress. The letter demands $50 million in compensation from the BBC, according to BusinessDay.
“Our client has suffered immeasurable reputational damage, psychological trauma and anguish as a direct consequence of the publication and dissemination of the article,” the letter reads in part.
The letter stated that Edu’s legal team is concerned about a BBC article suggesting that N30 billion was recovered from Edu by the EFCC and that 50 bank accounts linked to the recovered funds are associated with her.
The article also mentioned Edu’s previous suspension in January due to allegations of diverting public funds into a personal account.
The letter criticised the BBC’s article for suggesting guilt without evidence and for not allowing Edu to respond before publication, calling it a breach of journalistic standards.
It asserted that Edu has not been indicted or found responsible for financial misconduct and that no such funds have been recovered from her accounts or linked to her as proceeds of crime.
