Law Firm wants CBN to retract misleading social media post
Leading legal practitioners in the country, Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe of Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners (SOOBLP) has requested the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to retract all social media posts that labelled a previous press release issued by the Chambers on behalf of their client, as “fake.”
On Wednesday 7 August, CBN published social media posts on LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook and Instagram, captioned, “This information is misleading and not affiliated with the Central Bank. Please be guided!” and displaying SOOBLP’s previous press release with the word “fake” prominently branded on it.
Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners said they find the act to be damaging to its reputation because: the press release in question is factually correct and that the CBN confirmed in writing that the complaint has been forwarded to Ecobank Nigeria and that the outcome of engagement would be communicated to the Law firm as soon as possible before the release was issued.
“The press release was issued by Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners and did not purport to come from the CBN.Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, Partner, Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners who represents Wilben Trade, said:
“None of the content found in this release is fake or misleading. In fact, following a letter addressed to CBN on 22 July 2024 regarding the highly questionable conduct of Ecobank Nigeria, ETI Specialized Resolution Company Limited and its Managing Director, Dele Alabi, we received acknowledgment from CBN that the complaint had been forwarded to Ecobank, and that the outcome of engagement would be communicated to us as soon as possible.
“As the national bank regulator, CBN is obligated to investigate matters that could undermine the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system, in line with their mandate to “promote a sound financial system in Nigeria”.
The Law Firm noted that in response to CBN’s misleading social media posts, they have formally requested a full retraction, as labelling their press release as fake is both untrue and defamatory and failure to do so may result in legal action.
” As part of its commitment to justice, SOOBLP remains open to transparent and constructive engagement with CBN in the interest of building an enabling business environment in Nigeria”, they said.
