(Estranged couple, Roby Ekpo and Mayowa Lambe. Photo by Punch newspaper)
On behalf of his estranged wife, On-Air Personality Mayowa Lambe, media personality Robert Ekpo has received a cease-and-desist notice demanding N100 million in damages and a public retraction of remarks he made against her on a podcast.
On Tuesday, Yolanda George-David, the founder of Aunt Landa’s Bethel Foundation, posted the notification on her official X account. It was signed by K. Umoh Esq. and dated April 22.
The foundation’s legal department, which focuses on the rescue, rehabilitation, and legal support of victims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, issued it on Mayowa’s behalf.
It was addressed to Robert Ekpenyong Ekpo and demanded that he immediately stop publishing any more allegedly defamatory statements, remove all relevant content from all of his platforms, publicly retract and apologize via the same platforms that were used to spread the claims, and pay N100 million in damages.
The warning also threatened legal action, including claims for aggravated damages, injunctive remedies, and criminal charges to the relevant authorities, if noncompliance occurred within three days. Additionally, notice was given to third parties that disseminated the claims online.
The notice states, “You are hereby required to: Immediately cease and desist from further publication or repetition of all defamatory statements.”
“Delete any libelous content that is currently present on any platforms.
“Publicly and unequivocally retract all false remarks.
“Use the same platforms that were used to spread the defamatory content to publicly apologize to Our Client.”
“Pay the damages of ₦100,000,000.00.”
The lawsuit came when Ekpo, a comedian and radio host, appeared on a recent episode of The Honest Bunch podcast. In that episode, he offered an impassioned description of how his marriage to Lambe ended, accusing her of infidelity, deceit, and financial hardship that lasted more than ten years.
After meeting on Instagram and keeping the majority of their relationship private, Roby and Mayowa got married in November 2015.
When rumors surfaced that Lambe had remarried in Texas, the United States, without either side having publicly acknowledged their separation, the conflict came to light.
On the podcast, Ekpo stated, “I woke up to videos and pictures of my wife getting married to another man on Instagram after 11 years of marriage.”
He said that during their marriage, Lambe surreptitiously used contraceptives while undergoing fertility testing because he thought he was to blame for the couple’s infertility.
He said, “I am 48 years old, childless, and I began taking tests because I believed I was the issue, that I had problems with fertility. “I discovered later that she was using contraceptives.”
Additionally, Ekpo said that Lambe had misled him about the reason for her trip to Miami, saying it was for a procedure that would help with conception.
“Mayowa went to Miami to perform BBL. He responded, “She told me she had surgery so she could become pregnant.
He further claimed that Lambe questioned him about messages sent to her Instagram inbox, making even everyday communication suspicious during the marriage.
He said, “My wife would ask me why I was messaging her on Instagram if I sent her a direct message. “They (immigration) check,” she would say.
Lambe had been overseas since 2021, according to Ekpo, and he paid for her 2025 return journey to Nigeria, only to be met with a chilly reception at the airport.
“I haven’t seen Mayowa since 2021 until last year, when I paid for her airfare to travel to Nigeria. I took two automobiles to the airport. I was unable to record a video of me embracing my spouse.
“I wasn’t kissed by her. I spent two days sleeping in the living room. He said, “I’ll give her N200k from the N500k gig.”
He also claimed that Lambe lived in an apartment overseas with a man roommate, with whom he subsequently learned that Lambe had had sexual relations.
“She got a house and got a male flatmate. I was not comfortable with it, only for me to find out two days ago that the flatmate was sleeping with her. (It was not the same guy she married). I saw a picture of her sitting on a man’s leg at a restaurant,” he said.
Reflecting on the toll of the relationship, Ekpo said: “10 years of my life. If I had a kid out of wedlock, I would have justified that Mayowa can do whatever she likes, what did I do, but just love.
“Mayowa travelled for six years; with the little money I was earning, I was sending money to Mayowa every time. I was sending flowers.”
The cease-and-desist notice disputed Ekpo’s account on several fronts.
The traditional marriage between the two individuals “was mutually terminated with the full knowledge and consent of both families prior to May 11, 2025,” according to the statement, and there hasn’t been a continuing marital relationship since.
According to the document, Ekpo disseminated false information about Lambe, including “false allegations regarding infidelity, financial dependency, moral character, and the existence of a marital relationship,” through “a deliberate and sustained campaign of falsehood, using online platforms and public broadcasts.”
The remarks seemed “calculated to mislead the public, attract attention, and generate sympathy at the expense of our client’s reputation,” the statement continued.
The notice directly refuted Ekpo’s specific allegations by stating that Lambe had verifiable proof of her own financial contributions to the partnership, records of her attempts to help him relocate and advance overseas, and medical and fertility records demonstrating that she started and funded conception attempts.
Additionally, it referenced correspondence from third parties and social media exchanges that it claimed directly refuted his public claims.
The letter further claimed that Ekpo had continued to publish the allegations in spite of many interventions on his behavior by family members, mentors, and counselors.
According to the statement, Lambe was entitled to substantial legal remedies because his conduct constituted “serious defamation, causing emotional distress, reputational injury, and loss of goodwill.”
It added that Lambe was subjected to “widespread online trolling and coordinated defamatory commentary from individuals acting on your false representations” as a result of his actions.
Social media reactions to the incident have persisted, and public opinion is still divided.
While Ekpo publicly voiced his complaints, Lambe mostly shied away from confrontation, writing statements that seemed to indicate she was satisfied with her choices.
As at the time this article was filed, Ekpo had not made a public response to the notice.