$70,000 gesture of goodwill ignited feud involving Tracy Ohiri, attorney

Tracy Ohiri, a businesswoman, has come forward with new allegations that she was coerced into retracting her claims of sexual harassment and unpaid debt against Minister of Works Dave Umahi, and was promised a payment that never materialized.

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Ohiri made these claims in a new video released on Friday, in which she stated that lawyer Marshal Abubakar pressured her into recording a retraction video, assuring her that Umahi would compensate her for her troubles.

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According to Ohiri, Abubakar gave her a script to follow and told her that Umahi had agreed to pay her, but the payment was not made before the retraction video was released, contrary to their supposed agreement.

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In the video, Ohiri demanded to know why the footage was made public before she received any payment, asking Abubakar "How did you release the video without me collecting my money?"

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Ohiri also alleged that Abubakar threatened her and prevented her from speaking to others about the matter, saying "You made sure I did not speak to anybody… you kept on threatening me".

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She has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to investigate Abubakar's conduct, which she described as unethical, and has also released secretly recorded phone conversations she had with the lawyer.

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Ohiri had previously alleged that Umahi owed her around N250 million for promotional and printing services she provided during his 2015 governorship campaign in Ebonyi State.

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She claimed that after she rejected Umahi's alleged advances, the situation escalated, with threats and eventual police action against her, resulting in her arrest in Lagos on allegations of cyberbullying linked to her social media posts about the dispute.

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Ohiri was subsequently transferred to Abuja, where she was detained at the FCT Police Command, and was later arraigned before a magistrate court in Wuse, Abuja, on a defamation charge and granted bail.

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The case drew public attention after activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore confronted Umahi at the police headquarters, criticising what he described as the criminalisation of a civil dispute.

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Umahi had denied both the allegation of indebtedness and claims of sexual harassment, describing the claims as baseless and saying his record in public office should speak for him.

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In a video response, Umahi dismissed the controversy as social media noise, saying "What you read on social media, I’m not worried about it… it’s just to make social media alive".

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Amid the controversy, Ohiri released a video retracting her earlier allegations and apologising to the minister and his family, stating that her decision followed consultations with her family, friends and legal team.

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However, her latest video challenges that retraction, alleging that it was scripted and made under pressure, with a promise of payment that was not fulfilled, and she also claimed to have recordings of conversations that she would release.

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Responding to the allegations, Abubakar denied coercing Ohiri or withholding any payment, describing her claims as false, and stated that he was among those who mobilised support for Ohiri during her arrest.

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Abubakar said that efforts were made to mediate between Ohiri and Umahi, but the minister maintained that he was not indebted to her and would only pay if a court established the existence of a contract.

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According to Abubakar, a sum of $70,000 was provided by a third party, Joseph Ekumankama, not as compensation or admission of liability, but to facilitate peace, and he denied personally benefiting financially from the process.

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Abubakar alleged that Ohiri later demanded a much higher sum, saying "She promised to drag my name online unless I… pay her N300 million", and he added that he is considering legal action over the allegations made against him.