Udenwa Gives Kenneth Okonkwo Seven Days To Pay N5b, Apologize Over Extortion Claim

Former Imo State governor, Chief Achike Udenwa has given a member of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Kenneth Okonkwo, seven days to pay him N5bn in damages and apologize for what he described as defamatory statement against him
Udenwa’s lawyer, Soronnadi Njoku, in letter dated June 11, 2026, said that legal action would be instituted against the actor-turned-politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, if he failed to comply with the former governor’s demand.
The letter followed comments allegedly made by Okonkwo, a former spokesman for the 2023 presidential campaign of Peter Obi, during an appearance on Channels Television.
Njoku, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, accused Okonkwo of making false and malicious statements when he featured in Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on June 8.
The letter stated that Okonkwo alleged that members of the South-East caucus of a political party, including Udenwa, Obi and former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, were involved in extorting money from aspirants of the party for ticket to enable them to run in the 2027 general election.
Udenwa’s lawyer quoted in the letter that Kenneth Okonkwo had said during the television programme “That is why the NDC has released a statement that it’s only the South-East caucus of the party that was involved in such problems. Onyema Ugochukwu, Achike Udenwa, Peter Obi and other leaders of the South-East caucus were busy extorting the South-East aspirants.”
Njoku stated Okonkwo’s allegation was an accusation that the former governor was involved in criminal extortion and portrayed him as someone who abused his position to unlawfully obtain money from aspirants seeking political office.
The lawyers said that the claims were entirely false and had caused significant reputational damage to their client, who served two terms as governor of Imo State and later held office as a federal minister.
Udenwa, through his lawyer’s letter, also demanded apology from Okonkwo, which must be published in five national newspapers and broadcast during prime-time programming on Channels Television.
Udenwa demanded a written undertaking from Okonkwo that he would refrain from making any further defamatory statements against the former governor.