New Statesman retracts report on Kevin Okyere, Springfield

The New Statesman has retracted its report on the Group Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Springfield Group of Companies, Mr Kevin Okyere, which was deemed libellous.

The full retraction also comes with an unreserved remorse by the paper for any inconvenience the offending publication might have caused Springfield and its CEO.

The New Statesman retraction comes after the paper and  its publisher, GAB Productions Limited, were jointly sued for GH¢30 million by Mr  Okyere and Springfield, for defamation.

The suit, which was filed at an Accra High Court on September 30, is for general and exemplary damages for a headline published in the September 25, 2015 issue of the New Statesman.

Mr Okyere and Springfield Energy, who described the publication as defamatory of them, demanded costs, as well as an injunction restraining the defendants, “their agents or servants from further publishing or causing to be published any such defamatory or similar defamatory words of the plaintiffs”.

In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs averred that the defendants and each of them printed and published or caused to be printed and published of the plaintiffs false, vicious, libellous and defamatory words.

Read the retraction below:

Retraction: Report on Kevin Okyere, Springfield

The New Statesman wishes to retract in full its report of Friday, September 25, 2015...

The New Statesman, as its readers are fully aware, has been consistent in highlighting for its mainly Ghanaian readers efforts by new Buhari government to tackle corruption in Nigeria. Much of such publications have focused on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its former Chairperson and former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

In the course of our investigations, much of which was based on reports already circulating in the Nigerian media on her controversial handling of the Ministry, names were mentioned of people with alleged influence around Mrs Alison-Madueke and in just two of the many numerous reports (specifically The Premium Times and little known The Capital) the name Kevin Okyere, a Ghanaian businessman, came up.

Our checks further revealed that Kevin’s company, a Springfield, which is a player in the petroleum business here in Ghana, managed to secure oil lifting deals in Nigeria under the Jonathan government.

We must, however, stress that none of the publications about Kevin Okyere or his company, Springfield, made any categorical allegation linking him to any corrupt dealings, either in Nigeria or Ghana. And, our own publication did not say that Kevin Okyere or Springfield took part in any corruption transaction in any of the two countries they are known to operate in, Ghana and Nigeria.

Indeed, our report on Kevin Okyere and Springfield went on to say that the successful young Ghanaian businessman became “an object of envy within oil circles in Nigeria“, and added, “many others reduce the targeting of the successful Ghanaian deal-maker as one of pure envy.”

Apart from the fact that Springfield did business with the NNPC in Nigeria, the News Statesman has no evidence that Springfield’s dealings with NNOC were not legitimately secured and made no such categorical claim in our publication.

We have since published a rejoinder from Springfield in which they completely denied doing anything illegitimate in either Nigeria of Ghana.

We are hereby rendering a full retraction and unreservedly regret any inconvenience which our said publication might have caused Springfield and its CEO, Kevin Okyere.