Ogbegie’s reckless, malicious and vexatious falsehood against Edo’s Attorney-General

 

By John Mayaki 

Last week, an unfortunate, sensational and deeply misleading press statement emerged on social media from the table of one local champion, Barrister Dan Ogbegie, who parades himself as Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Edo state against the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Prof. Roland Otaru, SAN. It caused me a lot of worry, fear and sleeplessness that one of our finest is being targeted for Golgotha. 

Immediately, I reached out to friends and colleagues whom I thought could offer me the phone number of the Attorney-General for a first-hand information of the accusation; that he was fraudulently conferred with the title of Professor of Law. 

This is not an accusation anyone should take lightly. Integrity is on the line here. Hardwork is also being threatened here just as as it touched on the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo. But today, I am glad to be in the possession of the letter from the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE). It refreshed my day and restored my confidence. 

The letter dated 19th December, 2024, offered Prof. Roland Itoya Otaru, SAN, an appointment as Professor of Practice in the Faculty of Law, effective 9th December, 2024. It would be noted that this is 

not a honorary award that you decorate the recipient in the hotel room downtown, but an appointment approved by the university’s Senate and signed by the registrar. 

Suffice to say that he was subsequently confirmed by the University and went further to obtain his Ph.D from Babcoch University Ilishan Remo, Ogun State being one of the foremost private University in Nigeria.

That is not all, he got fellowships. He is a Fellow Chartered Institute of Arbitration (FClArb(Nigeria), Fellow Chartered Institute of Capital Market Registrar (FCMR), Fellow Nigeria Immigration Lawyers Association ( FNILA), Fellow Chartered institute of Administration (FCIA), Grand Commander of Peace( GCOP) conferred by United Nations International Peace.

But for blind politics, and without investigation, someone like Dan Ogbegie attempted to, not only mislead the people of Edo state but also weaponized his ignorance to achieve a partisan mischief. His claims were not only false, careless , and deliberately deceptive, I think his action should be investigated by the state chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and if possible, he should be recommended for disciplinary actions for attempting to bring the legal profession into disrepute, public opprobrium, for exposing his intellectual dishonesty and for exposing his own academic scandal. 

Ogbegie in his mischievous press statement arrogantly pontificated that a professorship can only be attained by passing through Reader or Associate Professor ranks. This assertion clearly betrays his startling lack of familiarity with modern university governance, where Professors of Practice exist in law, medicine, engineering, business and public policy both in Nigeria and worldwide.

Apart from the NBA, I want to call on Edo people to beware and circumspect about the man known as Ogbegie. He is determined to bring down our state because his party and candidate lost an election and as such, he must consciously mislead the people and paint the government of Senator Monday Okpebholo in bad light. 

As a lawyer that he is, I had thought he would never act on hear-say. Unfortunately, Ogbegie disappointed me. A Barrister. He hid behind a politically motivated and unverified petition without names to express his hysteria whereas, in law and academia, petitions are not evidence. 

Unfortunately, I do not know who would help educate Ogbegie that universities are not run by mob outrage or partisan press statements but governed by statuses, Senates and councils. Ogbegie conveniently ignored all of these and rush to press. 

Except the Attorney-General decides not to press for charges, Ogbegie in his reckless statement defamed the Senior Advocate of Nigeria when he insinuated that Otaru’s PhD is from a “nondescript institution.” Nobody should call this an advocacy; it is pure defamation dressed and masqueraded as speculation. 

My worry is that if this is the quality of opposition Edo people are being offered, then we have a long way to go in our democratic journey. Ogbegie’s attempt to embarrass the Okpebholo’s administration or the Attorney-General failed and was dead on arrival. But that’s not the major point here, it is the spectacle of a PDP spokesman who does not understand university appointments. 

It is unfortunate that this PDP straw-man could not distinguish between Professor of Practice and career Professor and as such, attempted to drag a federal university into partisan warfare. This is an insult to the intelligence of Edo people for an opposition to manufacture outrage and peddle half-truths. 

Now, let me finally lecture Ogbegie on his assignment as publicity secretary. Whenever your leaders sends you on an errand, do not fool yourself. First, worry about your integrity by directing enquiries to FUOYE Senate before rushing for a press statement. You don’t have to be a journalist before investigating a claim. Don’t be in a hurry to please any of your leaders because if you get into hot pepper-soup, you won’t see anyone coming to your aid. 

I will go further by offering to oblige you the letter from the registrar of FUOYE, if you care about Edo people, so that next time, you spare them this embarrassment. Except to say that this was never about your integrity but political desperation cooked in the form of concern for morality. 

Remember, Ogbegie, Edo people are watching and that by your action and inaction, they can now clearly see who is misrepresenting facts, who is crying wolf where there was none and who is uncomfortable with a government that refuses to play to old scripts. Listen, truth does not fear investigation but falsehood which the PDP and yourself represent fear documents.