By GARBA MUHAMMAD

Enugu-based journalist Mrs Chibota Dozie has dismissed allegations of being a mistress and of threat to life leveled on her by one Mrs Onyinye Obi Vivian, a resident of Onugu Ibagwa, Abakpa Nike area of Enugu State. She says these allegations against her are “absolute falsehood”.

Mrs Obi had petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, over alleged threat to her life and the children in her 16-year-old marriage to a journalist, Mr Petrus Obi, alleging that he is acting in concert with Mrs Chibota Edozie, whom she claimed is her husband’s mistress.

She further alleged that for the past six years, Mrs Chibota Edozie has made her house “a living hell” for her and her four children.

However, Mrs Edozie in her response sent to News Express on Wednesday denied the allegations, saying that she “never interacted physically or by phone with this woman in the last one year.”

“Myself and Mr Petrus Obi are only professional colleagues and belong to the same political camp in the Enugu NUJ politics. There is absolutely no truth in the allegation of romantic relationship between us.

“There are two camps in the South East NUJ crisis – the camp of the NUJ president, Chris Isiguzo and our camp. Myself and Petrus Obi are the arrowheads of our camp.

“I am happily married and l deny unequivocally, all the false and devious allegations made in the purported petition.

“If the petitioner has issues with her husband, she should not drag my name into the fray with her outlandish, patently false and devious allegations,” Chibota Edozie said.

Below is her reaction in full:

“RE: PURPORTED PETITION ON ALLEGED THREAT TO LIFE

“My attention has been drawn to a petition, purportedly written by one Mrs Vivian Obi, wife of Mr Petrus Obi, Vice President, (South East), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), where she made a number of allegations against my person, including romantic dalliance with her husband and threat to her life and l wish to tentatively respond as follows:

“1. The allegations are ABSOLUTE FALSEHOOD. I have never interacted physically or by phone with this woman in the last one year. So, on what basis would there be threat to life?

“2. Myself and Mr Petrus Obi are only professional colleagues and belong to the same political camp in the Enugu NUJ politics. There is ABSOLUTELY NO TRUTH in the allegation of romantic relationship between us.

“3. There are two camps in the South East NUJ crisis -the camp of the NUJ president, Chris Isiguzo and our camp. Myself and Petrus Obi are the arrowheads of our camp. We are in the forefront of our allegations of serial certificate forgeries perpetrated by Chris Isiguzo, culminating in my petition to the Independent Corrupt practices Commission (ICPC). The ICPC is about charging him to court and he had sent several emissaries to me to withdraw the petition but l refused. His only weapon now is to use the wife of Petrus as a pawn by lying to her that I’m dating her husband. This allegation has been on for almost three years. Isiguzo had used his minions in his group to malign me with this same false allegation of dating Petrus Obi, in some funny online South East media.

“4. Consequently, in 2018, l instituted a defamation suit against these people which is still currently pending at Enugu High Court.

“5. Early this year, they equally used another medium to publish the same silly allegations. This time, through my lawyer, l made a criminal complaint against them to the Inspector General of police and the investigation was still being handled by his IRT team, with the invitation of the suspects.

“6. So, since l have refused to yield to his entreaties to withdraw my petition at the ICPC against him, Isiguzo has resorted to using Petrus Obi’s wife with this spurious and totally baseless allegations, without her knowing that she is being used as a pawn in an NUJ political chess game.

“7. Anyone who read her petition would see the hands of Esau and the voice of Jacob in the way she attacked me in her so-called petition for fighting Isiguzo. The connection is very obvious

“8. To further confirm this conspiracy, this morning, her petition has been posted in the NUJ NEC WhatsApp platform. How did the petition of a non-member find its way into NUJ NEC WhatsApp platform? That is the low level Isiguzo has brought the NUJ.

“9. The whole charade is obviously a scripted move meant to embarrass me but I’m undaunted. No amount of campaign of calumny would dissuade me from going on with my petition with the ICPC, which would eventually lead to the prosecution of Isiguzo for serial certificate forgeries. It’s a case of corruption fighting back.

“10. I am happily married and l deny unequivocally, all the false and devious allegations made in the purported petition.

“11. If the petitioner is sure of her allegations, l challenge her to depose to an affidavit, stating the facts in her purported petition.

“12. If the petitioner has issues with her husband, she should not drag my name into the fray with her outlandish, patently false and devious allegations.”