The former Governor of Anambra State and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi has launched a N1.5 billion defamation lawsuit against human rights activist Deji Adeyanju.
The suit, filed at the High Court of Anambra State in the Onitsha Judicial Division (case No: 0/254/25), accuses Adeyanju of unleashing a torrent of “false, baseless, malicious, scandalous, and defamatory” attacks across social media platforms, tarnishing Obi’s hard-earned reputation.
Obi, represented by counsel Alex Ejesieme (SAN), demands N500 million in aggravated and exemplary damages for Adeyanju’s “reckless, malicious and persistent course of conduct,” plus N1 billion in general damages to compensate for “harm, ridicule, odium, emotional distress, and reputational injury.”
The writ, dated October 3, 2025, and served at Adeyanju’s Abuja residence, seeks sweeping relief: a court declaration that the posts are defamatory, a perpetual injunction barring further barbs, immediate deletion of offensive content from Adeyanju’s X (@adeyanjudeji), Facebook (“Adeyanju Deji”), and Instagram (@AdeyanjuDeji) accounts, and a mandated full apology within seven days of judgment—published across his social handles, three national dailies, and outlets like Channels Television, TVC News, and Arise News.
Obi also wants reimbursement for litigation costs, professional fees, and 18% annual interest on the judgment sum.
The feud traces to Adeyanju’s blistering August 29, 2025, Channels Television interview, where he branded Obi a “religious bigot,” “fraud,” “scum,” “political fraud,” and “political prostitute.”
Adeyanju alleged Obi tried bribing him during the 2023 election buildup—a claim he said Obi rejected, prompting repeated meeting attempts.
Daring Obi to sue after threats of legal action, Adeyanju scoffed, “do his worst,” insisting “the truth remains a valid defence in any defamation case.”
He lambasted Obi’s “Obidients” supporters as toxic: “Obidient mobs became practically uncontrollable. They threatened judges, harassed artists, insulted Prof. Wole Soyinka, and attacked anyone who criticised Obi.
We had never seen such toxicity in Nigerian politics except under Buhari.” On Obi’s character, Adeyanju sneered: “He is a political fraud, parading himself as a messiah. Didn’t he swear never to leave APGA? Yet he left. Today, he has one leg in PDP, another in ADC, and still in Labour Party. That’s a political prostitute.”