A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has said he has not been served with any court documents regarding the defamation suit reportedly filed against him by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Okonkwo made the disclosure on Thursday during an appearance on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
Reacting to reports of the lawsuit, he said he only became aware of the legal action through social media.
“I always hear whatever they are doing from social media because they are just presidential candidate social media uncouth followers. So, I heard it on social media, and I am sure whenever I receive it, I’ll let you know,” he said.
Responding to reports that the court had granted Obi’s legal team permission to serve him through substituted means after allegedly failing to serve him personally, Okonkwo questioned the basis for the application.
According to him, anyone seeking substituted service must first convince the court that genuine efforts were made to effect personal service without success.
“That’s the whole falsehood about this because when you claim substituted service, you will have to go into an affidavit to say you have tried to serve the person personally and you did not get the person,” he stated.
Okonkwo added that while he had previously responded to a pre-action notice sent to his phone, he had not received any originating court processes.
He also dismissed the legal action as an attempt to silence him, maintaining that he would not withdraw his earlier comments about Obi.
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