RIGHT OF REPLY

The immediate past Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Assistant General Secretary, Mr. Daniel Kip has stated that he “never received a dime from the outgone President of the NBA, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN in any form before exiting office.”

Kip was responding to an exclusive news report by CITY LAWYER that some National Officers received payments approved by the immediate past NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN as logistical support for attending the recent NBA Annual General Conference (AGC).

Multiple sources including two ranking immediate past NBA National Officers confirmed receiving AGC related per diem payments to CITY LAWYER.

However, the immediate past NBA assistant scribe vowed that he did not receive any payment “in any form” from the immediate past NBA President before his exit from office.

Describing the CITY LAWYER report as “defamatory & malicious,” Kip wrote: “The said story published on your blog was personally circulated by yourself on several Lawyers Platforms/Groups on Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp. To show the extent to which your publication on various platforms has been consumed, the NIGERIAN BAR_ASSOCIATION MEMBERS Platform on Facebook has about 18,000 members, the LAWYERS IN NIGERIA Facebook platform has about 14,800 members, the NIGERIA BAR ASSOCIATION platform has about 14,200 members, the other LAWYERS IN NIGERIA Facebook platform has about 35,500 members. Need I mention that you also posted same false publication on the following WhatsApp groups; NBA REFORM FORUM(1,024 members), VOTERS MEET, 2024(505 members), LAWYERS DECIDE(946 embers), BA MATTERS(381members), HUMAN RIGHT DEFENDERS(381 members), CTIY LAWYER SOCIAL(977 members). On Telegram, you posted on NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION(NBA)(3,481 members), NBA ACCREDITED OBSERVERS FORUM (184 members), CITY LAWYER(870 members). ‘These are but to mention a few.

“It beats my imagination that a Lawyer who doubles as a journalist will make such damning publication without conducting any form of investigation, confirmation or verification.

“It is incontestable that the said publication was made by you maliciously and knowing same to be false. It is also indubitable that the said false & unverified publication was made to gain traction to your platform disregarding the damage it may cause another. This is even more worrisome as I never received a dime from the outgone President of the NBA, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN in any form before exiting office. I am a law abiding and responsible citizen with an admirable character, and 1 served creditably and selflessly as Assistant General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association.

“Your publication, which has gone viral and generated uproar on social media, has thrown me into a state of trauma, and earned me undeserving opprobrium. find your action and publication of and about my person quite defamatory, mendacious, malicious, deceptive, unlawful and highhanded. My reputation, person and character has been greatly injured and maligned. The perception of my friends, relatives, colleagues and associates is that I unjustly enriched myself from the coffers of the NBA and kept mute about it. This is totally unacceptable.”

Kip demanded “an immediate written retraction of the said publication, accompanied with an unequivocal apology to be circulated to all social media platforms and contacts who earlier received the defamatory publication, and also a Letter of apology addressed to me.”

He added: “Take note that in the event that the foregoing demands are not met within 24 hours of the receipt of this letter, will invoke all legal options at my disposal to ensure that 1 get legal redress for the injury and psychological trauma you have occasioned me.”

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