'Retract or be sued': Gov Sule issues 7-day ultimatum to university VC over insecurity claims

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Professor Zacharys Anger Gundu, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mkar, Gboko, Benue State, demanding a full retraction and public apology over allegations linking him to insecurity in Benue.

The allegations, made by Prof Gundu during News Central Television’s Town Hall programme, accused Governor Sule of providing refuge to violent herders and enabling attacks on Benue communities.

He had stated: “Even today, the governor of Nasarawa State, Sule, is also masking the problem… It is people like Sule… who is giving them haven, who is giving them refuge, who is getting the lands of his own citizens and giving it to these people.”

Describing the claims as “false, malicious, and injurious,” Sule, through his counsel Dr Ahmed Raji (SAN), issued a letter dated 22 July 2025, demanding retraction and an unreserved apology in at least five national newspapers within seven days.

Raji noted: “Our client hereby challenges you to provide evidence of your allegations… which has seriously injured his reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society.”

He further warned that if the professor fails to comply, Governor Sule would seek legal redress and pursue “exemplary damages” for reputational harm.

The legal notice criticised Gundu’s statements as a deliberate attempt to tarnish the governor’s name, asserting: “Surely, the damage occasioned… is unquantifiable.”

Governor Sule maintains he will not “sit back and watch his hard-earned reputation and goodwill destroyed,” and expects an immediate remedy to the “ill-advised action.”

As of the time of reporting, Professor Gundu has not publicly responded to the ultimatum.