‘No Forgiveness’: Soludo Rejects Blogger Apology, Insists on Accountability for Satanic Lies

The Anambra State Government has reacted to an apology issued by a blogger, Ejike Ofoegbu, over a false publication he issued on Governor Charles Soludo and his family.

However, in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Christian Aburime, the government stated that apologies alone can not remedy the monumental damage the publications have caused.

Aburime insisted that what Ejike Ofoegbu intentionally did was not only “irresponsible journalism,” or a “lapse in judgment,” it was a deliberate, calculated, and criminal assault on truth.

“One that he now apologetically admits was motivated by nothing other than online traffic, audience engagement, and financial gain”.

The government said that now that “the walls have closed in, now that the long arm of the law has reached his doorstep, Ofoegbu has issued what he calls a “Public Apology and Full Retraction.”

It lamented that anyone who reads Ofoegbu’s apology again, slowly, will be shocked at the sheer audacity of his fabrications: “he did not only concoct and publish false quotes attributed to Anambra State Governor and his son Ozonna, he constructed an entire theatre of the absurd: a governor “disowning” his son and claiming he was “ordered from Temu”; a son calling his father a “drunkard who beat my mom”; a “drinking competition” between a governor and a minister; and election predictions manufactured from thin air!”

Describing these as “satanic works of fiction presented as journalism”, it said Ofoegbu didn’t just fail to verify his sources; he was the source. “He conjured these narratives in the same manner a novelist constructs characters, except that his characters were real people whose reputations he tarnished for clicks and monetisation, monetising human dignity”.

Aburime wrote that Ofoegbu’s cup of iniquity is full, and the long hands of the law have caught him.

The statement inferred that Ofoegbu will face the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015, which stipulates imprisonment for up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to ₦25 million.

Aburime urged institutions that steward Nigerian journalism practitioners to look inwards.

“Ejike Ofoegbu is not just an individual who went rogue. He is a symptom of an ecosystem that may have unwittingly tolerated the erosion of journalistic ethics in the digital space. The NUJ, which prides itself as the conscience of the Nigerian press, must disown Ofoegbu. He is not a journalist. He is a fabricator. He has no place in any professional body that claims integrity.

“The Nigeria Press Council, established under the Nigeria Press Council Act to promote high professional standards and investigate complaints against the press, must act with unprecedented firmness. Ofoegbu’s case should trigger a formal inquiry, a public censure, and a permanent blacklisting. Any less is an abdication of duty.

“And the Association of Nigeria Bloggers, if it aspires to be anything more than a social club for content creators, must publicly disown Ofoegbu and institute a code of conduct with teeth to bite The blogging profession in Nigeria cannot afford to have its reputation tethered to fraudsters who trade in manufactured outrage. Such are meant to be discredited and disowned to serve as a deterrent to others.

“Ofoegbu’s apology acknowledges that “no amount of money or online attention can justify spreading false information.” One wishes this consciousness had arrived before the published viral lies, not after the law came knocking. But that is the nature of consequence: it teaches what conscience failed to.

“And now, to every blogger, every “publisher”, or every social media operative who has looked at the Ejike Ofoegbu saga and thought, “He was careless. I am smarter. I won’t get caught.”

“Make no mistakes: you will be caught! Yes, the digital footprint is permanent. The screenshots are archived. The victims are watching. And the law may be slow, but is surely mapping your trajectory. It is a matter of time before you are caught.

“To those specifically engaged in what has become a campaign of calumny against Governor Soludo through his son: you are not smart. You are not brave. You are not “speaking truth to power.” You are repeating the exact playbook that just collapsed under the weight of its own falsehoods. You are building your house on the same quick sand that swallowed Ofoegbu whole,” the statement read.