A federal court summons and complaint about alleged defamation have been served to former presidential adviser Laolu Akande, according to Von Batten-Montague-York, a political consultancy and lobbying group with headquarters in the United States.
Akande, also known as Pastor Olaolu Akande, is the operator of Empowered Newswire, according to a statement released by the company on Monday.
Akande and Ademola Bello now have the chance to hire legal counsel and defend themselves against the accusations in federal court, it said, adding that its process server had successfully served Akande.
"We have learned that our process server has finally issued a federal court summons and complaint to @akandeoj (also known as Pastor Olaolu Akande), who operates under the name Empowered Newswire.
"Mr. Ademola Bello and Pastor Akande have a limited amount of time to address the defamation claims made against them in federal court.
It further stated that both defendants now have the chance to hire legal representation and defend their remarks.
The firm cautioned that an application for entry of default and, if necessary, a default judgement could result from either defendant's failure to reply within the time frame set forth by federal law.
The statement said, "We intend to seek entry of default and, where appropriate, a default judgement against either defendant if they fail to respond within the time prescribed by federal law."
It also threatened to seek enforcement actions, such as wage garnishment and asset seizure, in the event that a monetary verdict was filed.
The firm declared, "If a monetary judgement is entered, we intend to pursue all lawful enforcement remedies, including asset seizure, wage garnishment, and other appropriate collection measures, to ensure that Dr. Von Batten is made whole."
Thanks for reading: As former presidential adviser Laolu Akande is sued for defamation, a US company threatens to seize assets