Fani-Kayode Threatens Court Action Against Daily Trust, Demands N6bn For Defamation

Fani-Kayode described the article as libellous and demanded an apology from the newspaper, which must be published in other national dailies.

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has threatened to sue the management of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust and other publications for an article on him by the newspaper.

Iliyasu Gadu, a columnist with the newspaper, had on Sunday lambasted Fani-Kayode for his conduct during a press conference in which he described a Daily Trust reporter in Calabar, Eyo Charles, as ‘stupid’ after the journalist asked, who was bankrolling his current tour of Southern states.

Gadu claimed Fani-Kayode, who attended Cambridge University, was once “a drug addict” and had sought rehabilitation in Ghana but “till today had not been cured of the habit”.

In a  letter signed by the former minister’s lawyer, Adeola Adesipe, and addressed to the Managing Director of Daily Trust, Fani-Kayode described the article as libellous and demanded an apology from the newspaper, which must be published in other national dailies.

The letter reads, “Be aware that our client has not only suffered immeasurable loss of goodwill, he is currently confronted with unbearable opprobrium by his fans, followers, and colleagues across the globe.

“Our client is alive to his rights both in law and equity but is disposed to an opportunity to undo the evil you have done by retracting the said insalubrious remarks on the same platform it was published and apologising to him in two other national dailies.

“You are also advised to enter into negotiations with us for the sum of N6bn being a token amount for penitence as opposed to the magnitude of infraction caused to our client’s nobility.”

The newspaper was given 14 days to comply with the demands in the letter or face legal action.