Actor and events compere, Patrick Doyle, has responded to the scandalous letter circulated across different media platforms by legendary singer Onyeka Onwenu. Owenu called out  Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) to account for the N3million donation by the Cross River state government to the burial ceremony of the late lady of songs Christy Essien Igbokwe. Chief Okoroji served as the Chairman of the burial planning committee. In the flaming letter, she urged him to return the money as ‘’it is blood money and would do you no good’’

In a public statement, Mr Doyle came to Chief Okoroji’s defence and declared him a “genuine article, always willing to donate his prodigious intellect and unrivaled organizational skills to any cause in which he has faith.’’ He went ahead to accuse Onyeka of being a trouble maker with a long history and gave generous details; “Onyeka has tried Tony before. I recall that in 1991, Onyeka aligned herself with a number of others to take Okoroji to court. In the celebrated case in which Christy Essien Igbokwe was Onyeka’s ally, they sought to commit Okoroji to prison for contempt. At the time, the body of Tony’s mother was lying in an Owerri mortuary. That did not stop Onyeka & Co from going for his jugular. The story around town then was that there was a plan to make sure that Okoroji would be in prison while his mother was buried. Judgment day came and the court in Ikeja presided over by the present Lagos State Chief Judge, Inumidun Akande, was filled to capacity. Lo and behold, the tables were turned: Onyeka Onwenu & Co not only lost the case so badly but almost faced perjury charges. It took Sir Victor Uwaifo and the same Tony Okoroji to plead with the judge for the conspirators not to be prosecuted. Okoroji has been dragged to the Police, EFCC, ICPC, SSS and each time, he has prevailed and not once has he been held for anything. In every case, it was clear that malice and hatred were at play.’’

The man at the centre of the storm, Chief Okoroji has not taken the accusations lying low either. He issued his reply in a stinker of his own composition titled “The Amazing Bad Belle of Onyeka Onwenu” in which he accused the elegant stallion of participating in the burial ceremonies only for the publicity and declared that she never showed up for the burial rites at Awka. He did not stop there as he went on to threaten legal action : “I have had great patience with Ms. Onwenu. This time, she has crossed the line and I have asked my lawyers to take appropriate action and I will defend myself like I have done many times before.’’

Oluwapelumi