By Jimitota Onoyume

A prominent Ijaw leader , Chief  Lucky Akara Gbeneyei has  said he is a recognised chief in the state ,  adding he  demanded  a public apology from Chief William Igere,  Acting Chairman, Ogulagha kingdom Traditional Council of Chiefs , Chief Prefugha Karawei , Public Relations Officer of the Council and Chief Emaye Benidiwei, Senior Palace Admin of the Council over their publications  in the Vanguard newspapers were they allegedly said he was not a Chief of Ogulagha kingdom.

Addressing journalists in Warri, Delta state , Chief Gbeneyei  said in a letter addressed to the Ogulagha kingdom Traditional council of Chiefs with the trio as Attention through his Counsels, O.S. Ugwu and Timipre Roland  he among other things demanded a public apology from those behind the publications within a period of  four weeks from when they were served .

Continuing, he said he was conferred a Chieftaincy title at Operemor kingdom, Burutu local government area ,Delta state  several years ago, stressing that as such he was free to address himself as a Chief anywhere in the country.

The letter signed by his counsels with the title : Re : Gbeneyei not titled Chief in Ogulagha kingdom, demand for public apology and payment of damages for your mindless, repeated and disrespectful reference to a government recognised and registered Chief Lucky Akara Gbeneyei as Mr Lucky Akara Gbeneyei in your Vanguard publications of 9th and 20th June, 2021.”, reads in parts.

“We are solicitors to registered and High Chief Lucky  Akara Gbeneyei hereinafter referred to as our client on whose firm and unequivocal instructions we write to you . Our client informed us and we verily believe him that in a malicious response to an article which he caused to be published on page 21 of the Vanguard newspaper of 3rd June , 2021 , you jointly and severally caused a libelous articles to be published and republished against him on Vanguard newspaper of 9th June and 20th June, 2021 captioned:  Gbeneyei not titled Chief in Ogulagha kingdom, page 12 of the Wednesday, the 9th  of June , 2021 Vanguard newspaper and :  Ogulagha kingdom Council of Chiefs cautions Gbeneyei over Chieftaincy, page 16 of Sunday  the 20th of June , 2021 Vanguard newspaper, you resorted to denigrating and besmearing his hard earned image and reputation on pages of newspapers of 9th and 20th June, 2021.”

“Our client who is an indigene of Ogulagha kingdom and whose surname is Gbeneyei informed us and we have cause to believe him that at nowhere did he assert in his publication on Vanguard 3June ,2021 that he was conferred with Chieftaincy title by the traditional rulers of the great Ogulagha kingdom in Burutu local government area, Delta state. “

“Our client who is a peace loving indigene of the great Ogulagha kingdom informed us and we verily believed him that his reference to himself as Chief Lucky  Akara Gbeneyei in his article published on page 21 of the Vanguard newspaper of June 2021 is not offensive and sanctionable as you sought  to have the general public believe . Our client who is well known as Chief Lucky Akara Gbeneyei even in Ogulagha kingdom, simply stated the fact as it is by writing his name as Chief Lucky Akara Gbeneyei in the said article and the fact he has not been conferred Chieftaincy title in his home town Ogulagha does not in anyway detract from the stark fact that he is a government recognised chief who is Indigenous to Ogulagha kingdom.”

“Our client informed us and we verily believed him that Gbeneyei is his surname and that Chieftaincy titles are not conferred  on peoples’ surname in Ogulagha kingdom. Our client contends that as chiefs in the Ogulagha kingdom, you both ought  to know that Chieftaincy titles are coined and conferred on people based on what they have done for the people of Ogulagha and not on people and their names and or surnames.”

“Our client who is a government recognised and registered Chief informed us that he had since ceased to refer to himself and or allow others to refer to him as Mr since 2003 when he was conferred with a Chieftaincy title at Operemor kingdom. Our client informed us and we verily believed him that your disrespectful reference to him as ordinary and mere Mr Lucky Akara Gbeneyei in your publication of 9th and 20th June 2021 on Vanguard newspaper which circulated  across the entire country including the Operemor kingdom in Burutu local government area, Delta state where he had been conferred with Chieftaincy title since 2003 greatly damaged his reputation as a titled man whose Chieftaincy is recognised by the government of Delta state.”

“In the light of the foregoing it is our clients unequivocal instructions that we demand and we so demand that you forthwith write, publish and forward jointly and severally an apology letter to our client  Chief Lucky Gbeneyei in addition to payment of the sum of  fifty billion naira to him as damages for libel when you maliciously and mindlessly referred to him as Mr Lucky Akara Gbeneyei in your publications of 9th and 20th June , 2021, thereby tarnishing his image and reputation as a well known title holder. The fact that your king has not conferred Chieftaincy title on our client does not detract from the glaring fact that he is a Chief who should not have been referred to as a Mr by people like you who know him well at Ogulagha . It is no impersonation for an indigene of Ogulagha who has been conferred with Chieftaincy elsewhere to refer to himself as Chief as our client did in his publication of 3rd June, 2021 which you did not counter nor contradict.”

“Take notice that should you treat this letter with levity and ignore our demands within four weeks of your receipt of this letter we shall be left with no other choice other than to carry out the unequivocal instructions of our client by taking the appropriate legal steps to redeem the hard earned image and reputation of our client and obtain a just remedy for the wrong done to our reputable  High Chief Lucky Akara Gbeneyei without further recourse to you .”