The 2023 Riverts State governorship candidate under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole has filed a N40.5billion lawsuit against Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The suit was filed before an FCT High Court on Friday, November 7.
Cole had in a letter, through his lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, accused Wike of making “very damaging, malicious and unfounded defamatory statements” during a live broadcast of Channels Television’s Politics Today programme aired on September 18, 2025.
According to him in the letter, Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, allegedly described Cole as a thief, accused him of stealing from the state, and claimed that he sold gas resources for $308 million.
Okutepa said the remarks, which were broadcast nationally and internationally, have caused “severe reputational damage, mental distress, and loss of goodwill” to their client.
The lawyer noted that the interview remains publicly available on Channels Television’s official YouTube channel and continues to “cause ongoing reputational injury” to Cole.
He further accused Wike of “acting recklessly and in bad faith”, insisting that the former Rivers governor’s statements were made “without any factual or legal basis whatsoever”.
Cole had demanded that Wike retract the statements and issue a public apology both in writing and through the same media platforms, including a live broadcast on Channels Television and publications in at least three national newspapers, within 14 days of receiving the letter.
However, since the FCT minister failed to retract the allegations, Cole instituted a legal action, which has Wike and Channels Incorporated Ltd. as first and second defendants, respectively.
In his statement of claim, Cole said Wike alleged that he “crippled the resources” of Rivers along with Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of the state, taking over public property, including the Olympia Hotel, among many others.
He accused Channels Television of broadcasting and republishing the remarks without due diligence.
Cole said the allegations contradict his reputation as a global business leader and philanthropist.
Consequently, he is seeking a declaration of the court that the statements made by Wike “are false, malicious, offensive, and defamatory” and were calculated and intended to disparage “his personal, professional, and public capacity”.
He is asking the court to compel the defendants to retract in full the alleged defamatory publications and broadcasts disseminated across various online and media platforms.
Cole also wants the court to order that every copy, clip, or rebroadcast of the said material be permanently removed from all such platforms.
In addition, he is praying for an order directing the defendants to issue and circulate a press statement acknowledging the falsity and impropriety of the defamatory statements and to give the retraction the same level of prominence, visibility, and duration as the original broadcast and publications.
