Alleged defamation: Tonye Cole sues Wike, demands N20bn, apology

 

The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers state, Tonye Cole, has demanded N20 billion in compensation from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, over alleged defamatory statements made during a television interview.

Cole, in a letter dated October 8, 2025, through his lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, accused Wike of making very damaging, malicious and unfounded defamatory statements against him during a live broadcast of Channels Television’s Politics Today programme aired on September 18, 2025.

The letter stated that Wike allegedly described Cole as a thief, accused him of stealing state resources, and that he sold Rivers State gas for $308 million.

Okutepa said the remarks, which were broadcast nationally and internationally, have caused severe reputational damage, mental distress, and loss of goodwill to their client.

“The words you used, and which you published and caused Channels Television to publish to millions of viewers both nationally and internationally, portrayed our client in their ordinary and natural meaning as a thief, a dishonest and fraudulent person, an economic saboteur, and a morally bankrupt man,” the letter reads.

According to the legal team, the interview remains publicly available on Channels Television’s official YouTube channel and continues to cause ongoing reputational injury to Cole.

The team further accused Wike of acting recklessly and in bad faith, insisting that the former Rivers governor’s statements were made without any factual or legal basis whatsoever.

Cole demanded that Wike retract the statements and issue a public apology both in writing and through the same media platforms, including a live broadcast on Channels Television and publications in at least three national newspapers, within 14 days of receiving the letter.

In addition to the public apology, the lawyers also demanded a N20 billion payment as compensation for the alleged defamation and a written undertaking from Wike to desist from making any further defamatory remarks about Cole