EXTRA: Osun APC threatens Joe Abah with lawsuit over ‘fake news’

The Osun chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has threatened to sue Joe Abah, former director-general of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, over claims he made about the attack on the convoy of the governor.

APC’s threat against Abah ironically comes after the lawyer had threatened to sue a Twitter user who accused him of spreading fake news that “incited carnage in Lagos” during the violent aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.

On October 17, the convoy of Gboyega Oyetola, governor of Osun, had been attacked by suspected hoodlums at the #EndSARS protest ground in Osogbo, the state capital.

One person was said to have been killed while others sustained injuries, and some cars in Oyetola’s convoy got damaged.

A day after, Abah had taken to Twitter to comment on the situation in Osun.

“Gosh. I’ve just read about the killings in Osogbo. So, why do governors say they have no powers over the police if they can allegedly order them to shoot at protesters and they can comply. May the souls of those that died rest in peace,” the post read.

However, one of the comments on Abah’s post on the microblogging platform was said to have contradicted his claims.

“Dr. please do your independent research. I was at Olaiya junction when the hoodlums attacked the governor’s convoy. No one died at the scene. The reported death was due to one reckless bike accident and the second reportedly happened at Oke-Ayepe, very far to the protest ground,” the response read.

Good morning @DrJoeAbah,Your unfounded accusations against Osun State Governor,H.E @GboyegaOyetola led to incitement that could have gotten him killed. You posted this to your 520k followers and didn't bother to follow up that it was false when one of your followers corrected you pic.twitter.com/acf58XYsCN

— State Of Osun APC (@OSUN_APC) November 1, 2020

On Sunday, 14 days after his comment, the Osun APC took to Twitter to hit back at Abah, and gave him a 24-hour ultimatum to apologise for his claims against the governor, while threatening a lawsuit if he fails to comply.

“Good morning @DrJoeAbah, Your unfounded accusations against Osun State Governor, H.E @GboyegaOyetola,
led to incitement that could have gotten him killed,” the tweet, which included a screenshot of Abah’s post, read.

“You posted this to your 520k followers and didn’t bother to follow up that it was false when one of your followers corrected you.

“We are giving you 24 hours to apologize for your lies on the person of the governor or risk criminal/civil action against your person.

“As a serving government personality, we find it utterly irresponsible that you will share lies without doing as much as a minor verification.”

As a serving government personality, we find it utterly irresponsible that you will share lies without doing as much as a minor verification.

Advertisement

— State Of Osun APC (@OSUN_APC) November 1, 2020

On October 20, men in army uniform had stormed the Lekki toll gate in Lagos and opened fire on unarmed youth who had been stationed there for 13 days to demand the disbandment of the special anti-robbery squad (SARS).

There were conflicting reports on casualties after the shooting which has continued to attract global condemnation.

This was followed by unrest in Lagos during which government and private properties were looted or razed.