‘Absurd and defamatory’ — Marketing Edge asks NIMN to apologise for ‘malicious’ publication

Marketing Edge, a Nigerian-owned media firm, has faulted the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) over an allegation of breaching the institute’s Act 2003 with respect to ‘rating’.

The firm also demanded a retraction and apology from the council’s overall damaging reports.

NIMN had released a statement on November 24, urging the public to disregard any rating claims made by Marketing Edge, adding that the firm is parading itself in breach of the law despite being called to order.

The NIMN Act 2003 confers authority to the institute to register and control marketers.

Marketing Edge, through Felix Akinnisola, its attorney, said NIMN had written a “misconceived and ill-advised” letter to the firm on November 8 but did not wait for a response before releasing a statement on November 24, warning the public against Marketing Edge.

In a letter signed by Akinnisola, and addressed to the chairman of the institute on Tuesday, the attorney said Marketing Edge is a limited liability company (LLC) duly registered with the objective of carrying on the business of media practice, research and advertising amongst other things.

Akinnisola said Marketing Edge is not performing the duty of NIMN and the firm is not a member of the institute by “registration or practice such that she could not be brought under your supervision or regulations”.

He described the letter as vague and ambiguous, as NIMN did not state which section of the Act 2023 was breached by Marketing Edge.

“One would have expected that you do your due diligence to know corporate entities that are your registered members before embarking on this sort of macabre dance,” the attorney said.

“Furthermore, your letter is vague and ambiguous as to the section of the cited law that is purportedly breached, but notwithstanding our client’s activities does not purpose, pretend or attempt to delve into issues relating to regulating the practice of marketing in so much as it relates to authority granted to your institute.”

Akinnisola further described the institute’s act of publishing the letter on a newspaper platform as “absurd, ridiculous and laughable” rather than waiting to get a response to their letter.

“The mentioned publication is defamatory of our client and has injured the reputation of our client as it is understood or capable of being understood to mean that our client is a lawless entity, an impostor that lacks Integrity and a lawbreaker,” Akinnisola said.

“This has not only injured her reputation but it has brought her to opprobrium in the eyes of the world at large as a globally recognised entity and corporate personality and dragged her reputation in the mud.”

Akinnisola, therefore, demanded that the “malicious publication” be retracted within (14) fourteen days, with apologies published in three national and international publications with global spread to be made within the same period.

The attorney threatened legal action if NIMN did not retract the statements and apologise to Marketing Edge.