Vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has threatened to institute a N10 billion defamation lawsuit against popular cleric, Primate Babatunde Ayodele, over alleged defamatory comments concerning his relationship with the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Kwankwaso, through a pre-action notice issued by his lawyer, Magaji Mato (SAN), demanded an immediate retraction and public apology from the founder of the Evangelical Spiritual Church over remarks allegedly made during a church service in Lagos and subsequently circulated on social media.
The letter, dated June 11 and made public by Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, accused the cleric of making false, malicious and damaging statements capable of injuring the politician’s reputation and political standing.
According to the legal notice, Ayodele had publicly described Kwankwaso as a “fake ally” of Peter Obi and predicted that he would eventually betray the NDC presidential candidate. The cleric was also alleged to have claimed that Kwankwaso was paid to accept the vice-presidential slot.
Mato argued that the statements were entirely false and intended to portray his client as dishonest, insincere and politically unreliable.
The senior advocate noted that Kwankwaso’s long record in public service, which includes serving as a two-term governor of Kano State, former Minister of Defence, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, former Senator and former presidential candidate, had earned him a reputation that should not be subjected to unfounded attacks.
The letter stated that the comments were made before a live congregation, recorded and broadcast to a wide audience through online streaming platforms, thereby amplifying their impact.
“Our client’s attention has been drawn to your viral publication, which is trending across social media platforms and in both local and international news outlets, wherein you published malicious and defamatory content against him with the aim of tarnishing his hard-earned reputation in Nigeria and beyond,” the letter read.
It further maintained that the publication was carefully crafted to undermine Kwankwaso’s credibility, integrity and commitment to the NDC, while potentially sowing discord within the party and among its supporters.
Consequently, Kwankwaso demanded that Ayodele publish a full and unequivocal retraction and apology within 24 hours on all platforms where the alleged defamatory statements appeared, with the same level of prominence as the original publication.
He also requested a written undertaking from the cleric, committing him to refrain from making or republishing similar statements in the future.
The letter warned that failure to comply with the demands would leave Kwankwaso with no option but to commence legal proceedings seeking N10 billion in damages, in addition to the full cost of litigation and other reliefs that may be granted by the court.
“Take notice that if you neglect, fail or refuse to accede to our reasonable demands within the stipulated time frame, we have our client’s firm instruction to institute appropriate legal proceedings against you without further recourse,” the notice stated.