Nnukwu Nwanyi

PETER OBI DO NOT HAVE ANY REPUTATION TO PROTECT: Here is why; As a lawyer, I find the defamation suit reportedly instituted by @PeterObi against @realkenokonkwo rather curious and difficult to appreciate from a strategic standpoint. The essence of a defamation action is the protection of a reputation that has been unjustly damaged. However, where a public figure has been subjected to prolonged public criticism, political scrutiny, and widespread debate over their actions and statements, the practical challenge becomes demonstrating that the alleged defamatory statements have caused a fresh and measurable injury to an already contested public image. Does Peter Obi even have any reputation to protect? I doubt he has any reputation to be defamed. Reputation is not what a person value himself but what others value him. Peter Obi is banking enforcing a reputation that is long dead, therefore an action like this is laughable. In a democracy, political figures inevitably expose themselves to intense criticism, and the law of defamation must be carefully balanced against the constitutional right to freedom of expression. The courts are not intended to become venues for settling every political disagreement or silencing harsh opinions. Nevertheless, whether the action succeeds or fails ultimately depends on the specific words complained of, whether they are statements of fact or opinion, their truth or falsity, whether they were published to third parties, and whether they have lowered the claimant in the estimation of right-thinking members of society. Let me emphasize it here again, right-thinking members of the society does not include members of the OBIDIENTS movement. E. O. Ogar, Esq.