The face-off between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign organization, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, took a new dimension yesterday with threats and counter-threats by parties to go to court.

While the APC vice-presidential candidate of the APC, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Femi Fani-Kayode, to apologies over his “defamatory statements” against him, Fani-Kayode has demanded a retraction from the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for what he described as a libelous statement that was published against him.

Osinbajo, in a letter dated February 28 addressed to  Fani-Kayode and obtained by an online news medium, Premium Times, demanded N2 billion as damages.

He also demanded an immediate retraction of the “offensive and derogatory” publication and an apology on four television channels and national newspapers.
“Be advised that if we do not receive your formal retraction and apology and damages as demanded within seven days of receipt hereof, we shall proceed with our client’s instructions to seek appropriate legal remedies for your publication and dissemination of defamatory statements,” Osinbajo wrote, through his lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN).

Last Friday, Fani-Kayode, a lawyer, had convened a press conference in Abuja where he alleged that the APC’s vice presidential candidate had sworn an oath to vacate his seat should the party win the forthcoming election.

According to Mr. Fani-Kayode, Bola Tinubu, the APC’s National Leader, had nominated Osinbajo as part of “plans to come to power through the back door”.

“Tinubu, according to our information, has compelled Osinbajo to swear to an oath that after six months in office, he would resign as the vice-president, in the unlikely event that their party wins,”  Fani-Kayode said in his press statement titled ‘APC is Selling a Dummy to the Whole World; Tinubu is the Real Candidate.’
“The wicked plot, as laid out by them, is to force Osinbajo to resign for Tinubu to be nominated by Buhari as his replacement.”

Falana said that the statement, wherein he labelled Osinbajo as Tinubu’s ‘stooge,’ hurt the vice presidential candidate having been disseminated to millions of television viewers, including print and online media.

“As it were, the statement has now been published and circulated to an undetermined number of people in Nigeria, and internationally,” Falana said.

“The direct meaning, imputation, purport and/or innuendo or insinuation of the false, misleading and defamatory statements is that: ‘Osinbajo is deceitful. Essentially, you alleged that his motivation and pledge to serve as Vice-President of Nigeria is inconsistent with his avowed desire to serve this nation with Buhari, and work assiduously to deliver the benefits of his commitment, party and personal promises to the people.’

“Your characterization of Osinbajo as a ‘stooge’ in context suggests that he is complicit in a fraud against the Nigerian people.”

Falana further said that Fani-Kayode’s statements imply that his client lacks integrity and had engaged in a conduct incompatible with his faith and ethics as a pastor and respected lawyer.

“It is clear that the entire publication was a vicious, wicked and reckless ploy to impugn the reputation of our client and lower him in the estimation of right thinking members of the public,” Falana added.

On the other hand, Fani-Kayode is demanding from Mohammed, the sum of N5 billion and a retraction of the defamatory publication.

Fani-Kayode, while denying the content of the report, titled: ‘We’re concerned about Fani-Kayode’s mental status’ and the innuendoes contained in it, published on March 3, on page 6 of The Nation Newspaper, said every allegation  against him in the said publication was false and defamatory of his person and character.

According to the three-page letter by his lawyers, Ahmed Raji and Company, dated March 3, Fani-Kayode is demanding, in addition to retraction of the said statement, an apology to him within seven days of the receipt of his letter by Mohammed.

According to the letter signed by Mr. Whyteman Prekunomaa, “You (Lai Mohammed) are also to enter into negotiation for damages as we have firm instructions to claim five billion naira damages against you.”

“Take notice, therefore, that it will amount to a specious gamble on your part, if you treat this letter with levity,” Fani-Kayode’s lawyers advised Lai Mohammed.