Actor Pat Attah Sues TVC Over Defamatory Comments On His Relationship With Genevieve Nnaji

The Interview went South!!!

RE: PAT ATTAH REVEALED HE DATED GENEVIEVE NNAJI
We are solicitors to Mr. Patrick Attah and he has retained our services. We write this letter on his specific instructions.

Our client’s attention has been drawn to a regular TV show known as “Entertainment Splash (e-splash)” which is usually broadcast by TVC between 1pm-2pm (GMT+1) from Mondays – Fridays. The said programme is usually anchored by you alongside two anchor persons - JayPaul (a.k.a Mr. Flamez) and Cassey Bashua Alimi. On the 8th of August, 2023 you and your fellow anchor persons caused to be broadcast and published through words spoken and images on the said television show under the guise of discussing the above topic titled: PAT ATTAH REVEALED HE DATED GENEVIEVE NNAJI.

In the said broadcast which has been widely circulated on various social media platforms including TVC’s YouTube channel, online publications, Facebook, print media, and X (formerly known as Twitter), you and your fellow anchor persons maliciously and recklessly disparaged our client.

In the referenced broadcast/publication you and your fellow anchor persons using TVC’s platform falsely alleged that our client in order to chase clout and publicity granted an interview where he claimed without being asked, that he had dated Genevieve Nnaji. The central theme of this wicked publication was to the effect that our client in a previous interview had said that he dated and had a serious relationship with Genevieve Nnaji. According to the publication, he made this statement without any cause and without any question put to him as to whether he dated Genevieve Nnaji.

After the introductory comments made by Jaypaul (Mr Flamez) wherein he referenced the interview which was the basis of the conversation amongst you and your anchor persons, you requested to know what led our client to refer to his relationship with Genevieve Nnaji in the previous interview. In response to your question, Cassey Bashua Alimi in a very thoughtless and inept manner gave a slanted and completely false analysis of how and why our client brought up his relationship with Genevieve Nnaji in that interview. Cassey Bashua Alimi deliberately left out the most important part of the interview granted by our client, that it was the interviewer who specifically introduced and asked about our client’s relationship with Genevieve Nnaji and not that our client just brought up the issue. It was most unfair for you and your fellow anchor persons to present that interview in a manner that did not accord with the truth. In our view, this was deliberate, as Jay Paul (a.k.a Mr. Flamez) in his introductory comments at the beginning of the broadcast stated that our client only answered to the question put across to him regarding his relationship with Genevieve Nnaji. In the course of interaction amongst you and your fellow anchor persons, each of you made the following comments;

JAYPAUL (MR FLAMEZ) - “So you know what vibes this gives me? It gives me the vibe of you know when you are talking to your uncles or older uncles, aunties. So I used to do this, I used to do that", you know they have, there's no reason, there's no shalaye, they actually...”
“it's like saying, I used to be an actor and I used to date, so so so and so person meanwhile we didn't ask for that, if it was private, then it should remain private"
“if he was that important to her and they had a good time together somewhere along the line, she would mention it.”

OLAYEMI OGUNWOLE (HONEYPOT) – “The reason why I asked that question is because in everything we do in this life, I think that we should avoid that urge to “shalaye” and the reason I’m saying that is that if they are asking you about relationships in Nollywood, which one is bringing your past into the present so that we can know that you dated Genevieve, it’s of no use, why? Why? So I don’t like people who talk too much, I don’t like people who give information that are not meant to be given. So when he has said that ah he dated Genevieve oh, has he added some money to his account or they will say “oh in your status or your bio you are going to put it there and add to it that I dated Genevieve before or something. There are things I think are not just necessary. Yeah you have dated the person, so now what?”
- “…yes it looks like he does not have anything really going on for him, he’s just looking for, how can I create something around me which I don’t understand.

- “…and I think ladies should avoid men like this because I don’t understand, I don’t know what category to put them in but it’s very irritating.”

- “…so tomorrow if I have a job for him I will now say that guy that dated Genevieve, because he dated Genevieve, cos I don’t get…”
- “…you will even look very well, like who is it that I want to talk about.”
- “…we would not have to find out from him, abeg he should just GET OUT!

CASSEY BASHUA ALIMI – “he is in Germany now, by the way where he is into photography. The interviewer asked him about relationships in Nollywood, how Nollywood has progressed and if he was in any present relationship and then that was when he made the revelation talking about the fact that back then there was no social media, so all of these things that are happening on social media now, the “unfollow” “you unfollow” the … broken up and everything, it wasn’t there. People were not monitoring
- “But at the end of the day, he was just using it as an example and blowing his trumpet, yes. It is just like being asked about relationships and which of your on-screen sweethearts would you have loved to date, and that kind of thing, then you will now say but we dated.”
- “he might be giving people content, you know there are people that do all this “5 people Genevieve has dated and now he has entered the gist, so I am happy for him.”
- “she would have been mentioning his name over the years”

From the above, the words in their natural and ordinary meaning were meant and understood to mean;

(i) That our client is dishonest, deceitful, unreliable, a person of questionable character, untrustworthy and morally bankrupt

(ii) That our client is a clout chaser, a person seeking popularity that is underserved, insecure, clingy, unprincipled and immoral

(iii) Our client is loquacious or garrulous, shameless and a philanderer.

Our client believes that the said broadcast anchored by you and your fellow anchor persons and the publication was calculated to demean, ridicule, embarrass and humiliate him. In consequence of the said publication, our client has been greatly injured in his credit, character, reputation, profession and family life. Our client is one of the pioneers of the Nollywood film industry in Nigeria, he is also a reputable actor, musician and business man, a family man with children who has suffered greatly from this reckless publication.

Our client was very circumspect in the said interview. He repeatedly said his relationship with Genevieve Nnaji was cordial and serious which did not in anyway tarnish the image of Genevieve Nnaji.

It is in the light of the above, acting on the instruction of our client that we make the following demands;
(i) That you are to ensure that the contents of the said broadcast made on the 8th of August, 2023 by you and your anchor persons – Cassey Alimi Bashua and Jay Paul (a.k.a Mr. Flamez) is retracted by TVC and also ensure that you tender an unreserved apology to our client. This retraction and apology must be published and broadcast in the same means and manner in which the libelous publication was made, including TVC’s YouTube channel, Twitter, all social media platform, Whatsapp and Facebook etc. Our client also demands that the retraction and apology must also be published/broadcast on the same programme “Entertainment Splash (e-splash)” and you and your anchor persons must apologise to our client. In addition, you are to ensure that this apology and retraction must be published in no fewer than Three National Dailies, to wit: Vanguard, THISDAY and Punch Newspapers.

(ii) Our client has instructed us to make an unequivocal demand for monetary damages in the sum of N500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira).

The above demands must be met within 14 working days from the date of receipt of this letter. Our instructions are that, should you choose to disregard or fail to heed these demands we are to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress as demand above.

Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
FOR: TURONY & SAIFO
Anthony Omaghomi
Managing Partne