Tunnel End Investment Company has described as mendacious and malicious, publications by one Jackson Ude alleging that Tunnel End is complicit in the looting of the Abia treasury. In a two page letter addressed to Jackson Ude (Publisher Point Blank News) and signed by Dinne Okpara on behalf of the company, Tunnel End noted:
“Our attention has been drawn to a series of tweets you released on your official tweeter handle @ jacksonpbn on the 27th of December,2021- where you amongst other several false and malicious allegations published our business account numbers with theFirst Bank of Nigeria and United Bank of Africa. You alleged with these tweets that our company is complicit in the looting of the Abia treasury”
Specifically, you concluded with your injurious and false tweets by alleging and inferring that Three(3) Billion Naira has been paid to either or both of the accounts from the 18 billion Naira released to Abia recently- from intervention from the Federal government”
Tunnel End further advised the said Jackson “to always seek the truth in your stories by availing parties in your story the opportunity to respond to information at your disposal for a balanced and professional portrayal of your publications…” The company insists that “this false and malicious story being retweeted on your handle by your thousands of followers being false and unfounded was calculated to lower the esteem of the company in the public’s perception of us and damage our professional reputation. And has indeed put our numerous workers on-site in Abia in harm’s way by endangering their lives from Abians who believed your story”.
In order to submit themselves to the rule of law, Tunnel End in the letter demands “an unqualified apology together with a retraction of the libellous publication in your tweeter handle within 48 hours, while the company reviews other viable legal options available to them to redress these damages.
Read Full Text of the letter below:
29th December 2021
The Publisher of Pointblank News
Mr Jackson Ude
New York
USA
Dear sir,
Re: Jackson Ude’Malicious Tweeter Publication on Tunnel End Investment Company
Our attention has been drawn to a series of tweets you released on your official tweeter handle @ jacksonpbn on the 27th of December,2021- where you amongst other several false and malicious allegations published our business account numbers with the First Bank of Nigeria and United Bank of Africa. You alleged with these tweets that our company is complicit in the looting of the Abia treasury.
Specifically, you concluded with your injurious and false tweets by alleging and inferring that Three(3) Billion Naira has been paid to either or both of the accounts from the 18 billion Naira released to Abia recently- from intervention from the Federal government
Whist we concede to your rights as a journalist include the impeded publication of your journalistic and investigation endeavours, however, we believe that it is a trite and cardinal principle in journalism to always seek the truth in your stories by availing parties in your story the opportunity to respond to information at your disposal for a balanced and professional portrayal of your publications.
Unfortunately, these referenced tweets fall short of the rigours of this time tested professionalstandard and have caused injurious harm and reputational damage to us.
Our Company-Tunnel End and Investment Limited is a top tier construction and engineering company with a major bias on road construction and turnkey projects across Nigeria. We have embarked on major and landmark engineering and construction projects that predate the present Abia government and has equally been involved in major construction contracts with the Federal Government that predate the present Abia Government.
We are a corporate responsible company with a strong emphasis on ethical governance of our operationsas can be gleaned from our tax records and other records with the Nigerian law enforcement agencies. We do not have a single record in ……years of our operation. We have been involved in the construction of roads in Abia as in other states based on these strong track records on timeous, ethical and qualitative delivery of our contractual mandates.
Our contractual relationship with Abia State has been based on our professional reputation and our engineering feats on record. Whilst we have delivered on these contractual specifications and handed over to the government on most of these jobs, the government of Abia, on record, is indebted to us in Billions of Naira from some of these delivered jobs to date.
Therefore, we are piqued to have come across your libellous publication where you recklessly published our account numbers while alleging that 3 billion was paid into the account when our company has not received any 3billion Naira in either or both of the published accountsfrom interventions released to Abia or any other fund released as alleged.
This false and malicious story being retweeted on your handle by your thousands of followers being false and unfounded was calculated to lower the esteem of the company in the public’s perception of us and damage our professional reputation. And has indeed put our numerous workers on-site inAbia in harm’s way by endangering their lives from Abians who believed your story.
We believe your mendacious publication was actuated by malice and deliberately orchestrated to portray us as a fraudulent company and complicit in the so-called looting of Abia treasury.
In the light of the foregoing, we demand an unqualified apology together with a retraction of the libellous publication in your tweeter handle within 48 hours while we review other viable legal options available to us to redress these damages.
Yours faithfully,
Dinne Okpara
For:Tunnel End Investment Company
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