Retract Your Social media Post, Legal Practitioners tells CBN

By Iyojo Ameh

Lagos based legal practitioners on Tuesday asked the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to retract all social media posts which it published through a press releases portraying SOOLBLP as peddling fake news.

The demand was contained in a statement which was issued by SOOBLP and made available to journalists in Abuja, stressing that the apex bank’s social media posts on Wednesday 7th July, 2024, casted aspersion and damaging the integrity of lawyers which they earned through work over the years.

The statement read: “Today, Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners (SOOBLP) formally requested the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) retract all social media posts that labelled a previous press release issued by SOOLBP, 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.”

SOOBLP further explained the confirmation of complaint against Ecobank which it acknowledge through a letter CBN addressed to their client and copy of which was made available to journalists in Abuja, insisting that the Central Bank of Nigeria was attempting to put them in bad light.

“Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners finds this act to be damaging to its reputation because: the press release in question is factually correct, the CBN confirmed in writing that the complaint has been forwarded to Ecobank Nigeria and that the outcome of engagement would be communicated to us 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.

“In response to CBN’s misleading social media posts, we have formally requested a full retraction, as labelling our press release as fake is both untrue and defamatory. 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. -ENDS-Contact Information”, the statement concluded.