Omowunmi Aloba, the widow of the late Nigerian singer Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, has issued a pre-action notice to her father-in-law, Joseph Aloba.
The pre-action notice demands an apology from Joseph Aloba for defamation, offensive and libelous social media and newspaper posts and publications against her.
Omowunmi, popularly known as Wunmi, who served the notice through her lawyers, said that her father-in-law recently resorted to a “newspaper campaign of calumny, character assassination, name-calling, defamation of characters against her and use of reckless language to portray her image and personality to gain cheap attention and sympathy from unsuspecting members of the public”.
The letter read, “We have been consulted, briefed and our services retained by Mrs Aloba Cynthia Omowunmi, hereinafter referred to as “Our Client” and at her behest, we write you in respect of the above subject.
“Our Client’s brief reveals that you have recently resorted to newspaper campaign of calumny, character assassination, name calling, defamation of characters against her and use of reckless language to portray the image and personality of our client in order to gain cheap attention and sympathy from the unsuspecting members of the public.”
The letter cited an example of an interview Mohbad’s father had with Westo Adejumo Adekunle on African TV, where he was reportedly quoted as saying that he had so much hatred for his late son’s widow.
Mohbad’s father was quoted as saying in the interview: “I made mention of something in the court that whenever this girl wanted to go and f*** around, she would give, she will add something to Indomie (noodles) to cook for my son to sleep off. And from there, she would enter another person’s room in that Marlian house to f*** another person.
“It was later that the girlfriend of that person she was seeing met her there. That was the person who revealed the secret to Moh, and Moh told me.
“You know I could not even tell him that he should go and scare his wife away so far he could still manage it but I know it was beyond natural……”
The letter further stated, “Apart from the above, there are other things said by you on other newspaper and online platforms that libeled and defamed our client’s reputation.
“Sequel to the above, we hereby demand an immediate retraction of the said publications and interviews, which are libelous and had injured the reputation and self-esteem of our client in the eyes and estimation or perception of reasonable members of the society as she has become an object of mockery and ridicule and can no longer move freely in the public or even in her immediate environment.
“Having said that, we hereby demand for a public apology to be published on all your social media profiles within seven days of the receipt or delivery of this letter.”
The letter said, “If, however, you fail, refuse or neglect to hearken to this subtle demand, we will be left with no choice than to commence legal proceedings against you to assert our client’s rights and claim 50 million naira damages in that respect.
“This letter serves as a pre-action notice to you in respect of the matter in question and you are advised, in your own interest, to allow wise counsel to prevail.”