Law firm writes CBN, demands retraction of social media posts inimical to its reputation

***Failure for which it threatens legal action

A law firm based in Lagos, Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners (SOOBLP), has formally written to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) requesting it to retract all social media posts that labelled a previous press release issued by SOOLBP, on behalf of their client, as “fake.”
The letter dated August 13th, 2024, indicated that on Wednesday 7 August, CBN had 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.
SOOLBP pointed out that the action of the apex has damaged its reputation as the Press statement in question is factual adding that the CBN had confirmed that the said complain had been forwarded to the Ecobank Nigeria.
The letter reads, “Ofunde 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, and 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, further explained that “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.”

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