Okonkwo Dismisses N5bn Defamation Threat from Peter Obi’s LawyersActor and politician Kenneth Okonkwo has dismissed a pre-litigation letter from the legal team of Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, which demanded N5bn in damages over alleged defamation.Okonkwo said if Obi needs campaign funds, he should make a direct request instead of seeking money through legal threats.The demand letter followed Okonkwo’s appearance on Channels Television’s “Sunrise Daily” on Monday, June 8, 2026, where he alleged that aspirants for the House of Representatives were forced to pay a N10m bribe under Obi’s watch.In a letter dated June 9, 2026, Obi’s lawyers, led by Chief Alex Ejesiem, accused Okonkwo of making false and malicious claims. They demanded a public apology and threatened a multi-billion-naira lawsuit.Reacting on Tuesday, Okonkwo told Obi to be straightforward if he needed financial support.“Let me say this: if Peter Obi is looking for money for his campaign, he should ask me privately and I will help him. He should not resort to extortion,” he said.“I have not read the letter, but I am aware of it. Let me issue this warning: the lawyers must take responsibility for any sensitive information I may disclose. I acquired this information while serving as his spokesperson, and by conscience I have not shared it with anyone. My principle is simple: I do not use confidential information against anyone unless that person is unwise enough to provoke me.”He added: “It will be a shame for Peter Obi and his lawyers if they do not take this case to court. I have no time or patience for scammers.”Okonkwo also cited remarks by aspirant Obi Nwobodo, who said: “I am Obi Nwobodo, aspirant for Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, and I am saying I was defrauded. The party blames ‘PO’.”According to the demand letter from Madiba & Co. Chambers, Okonkwo had accused Obi and South-East leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, of imposing unauthorized financial demands on aspirants. The letter claimed Okonkwo alleged that “Obi, together with the leaders of the NDC in the South-East, informed party aspirants that anyone seeking to contest for the House of Representatives must, after paying the prescribed expression-of-interest fee, pay an additional bribe of N10m to the NDC and its caucus leaders.”