ABEOKUTA - The Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Prof Adewale Musa-Olomu has issued a seven -day ultimatum to the management of an soft sell magazine, Global Excellence, Lagos within which to retract it’s offensive publication or risk a law suit.
Besides, the Medical Director in a statement by the Head of the Centre’s Public Relations, Segun Orisajo was also demanding a public apology from the medium over it’s misleading and unsubstantiated publication failure of which the medium should be prepared for a N500M legal redress.
The medium had in its online publication published on Sunday, 24th January 2021 made some spurious allegations against the Medical Director whom it accused of “swimming in alleged identity, hospital items purchase frauds”
The Medical Director's solicitor,Abdulfatai Oyedele Esq MCIARB ( UK) had in a protest letter to the Editor in Chief of Global Excellence dunked all the allegations raised in the publication.
The letter reads in part, “Our client unequivocally and emphatically denies the allegations contained in your publication as untrue, unfounded, unwarranted and representing at best, poorly drafted fiction meant to reduce his estimation in the eyes of well – meaning people.
“Your medium made these allegations without recourse to their veracity or our Client’s reputation. Your approach, therefore smacks of utter bad faith.
“In other words, you did not care at all about any negative repercussion generated by your intentional and deliberately mischievous allegations against our Client
“Specifically, you set out to destroy him. The explicit maliciousness, embedded in your allegations are clear cut, they highlight your objective of parading and presenting our Client to the public as one who should be treated with disdain and contempt.
“It cannot be refuted that by the publication under reference, you have not only defamed our client, but you have also heaped public ridicule and odium on his person.
“You have virtually discounted all that our client has achieved in life and tarnished his hard - earned reputation. Our client’s reputation has been seriously damaged, while he has also suffered considerable distress and embarrassment.
“Since causing the publication, our Client has been inundated with the barrage of telephone calls from professional and personal acquaintances; all shocked and disappointed by our Client’s alleged activities referenced in the said publication.
“Our Client is a public officer and entrusted by law to perform functions that require explicit and implicit trust from the public
“The publication on your online platform is mischievously calculated to erode that trust.
“The foregoing is particularly so in view of the well – known fact that our Client is widely reputed as having built a hard - earned reputation over the years through hard work, discipline, commitment, and dedication to whatever cause he lends his support.
“He made modest success in the academia before joining the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, after being appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to head the centre as its Chief Medical Director in 2017. Our Client has built his reputation as a distinguished scholar, medical practitioner and clergyman. In recognition of his distinction in the academia, our Client was elevated to the highly coveted rank of “Professor of Surgery and Medicine” in 2014 by the Senate of the University of Ilorin.
“Prior to becoming the Medical Director in 2017, he had meritoriously served as a distinguished scholar in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ilorin for Seven years.
“In his decades in private and public services, never was there any time that he has been linked with any act of corruption. It is therefore an untruth that our Client “diverted a sum of N300 million drugs revolving fund and illegal sale of a CT Scan belonging to the hospital or reduce his age just to get federal government employment” as graphically reported by your medium.
“Arising from the foregoing, we have further instruction of our Client to demand from you the following:
"A retraction of the said story published vide your online platform on the 24th January, 2021 titled: “FMC Abeokuta MD, Prof Musa Olomu, Swims in Alleged Identity, Hospital Items Purchase Frauds”;
"A public apology to our Client to be issued vide your online platform to be published for Seven (7) consecutive days from the date of first publication;
"A sum of N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) as damages for the injury caused to our client by your said defamatory publication.
"You are hereby given Seven (7) days from the date of this letter, within which to comply with our Client’s simple demands; otherwise our further instruction is to commence proceedings against you and your medium for your malicious and defamatory publications against him without any delay."
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