Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, has threatened to sue former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode and Lere Olayinka, an aide to Governor Ayo Fayose, for naming him as the owner of the Lagos apartment where over N13 billion was found last week.
Amaechi’s lawyer Lateef Fagbemi informed Fani-Kayode and Olayinka in separate letters dated April 14 that some comments they posted on social media amounted to defamation.
The letter to Fani-Kayode, addressed to his home in Abuja, reads in part:
“The attention of our client has been drawn to your tweet posted on your Twitter timeline (@realFFK) where you claimed that:
“The $43 million is Rotimi Amaechi’s. He owns the flat it was found in too (sic). NIA story is fake news! NIA does not keep cash in Minister’s flats”.
According to Fagbemi, Fani-Kayode’s statements were “blatantly false, malicious and aimed at impeaching the credit” of the minister, who’s also a former governor of Rivers State.
“Our client neither owns the cash nor the house where the cash was found and your story and claim are unfounded.
“As a matter of fact, our client does not own any house in Lagos State not to talk of keeping cash in one and your story is preposterous,” the lawyers said.
Consequently, Amaechi asked Fani-Kayode to apologise for his alleged offences within seven days or face legal action.
Fani-Kayode must also publish his retraction on five national dailies and pay a compensation of N500 million to Amaechi
In his letter to Olayinka, addressed to the government House in Ado-Ekiti, Amaechi said that there was no truth in the allegations that he owned the apartment where the money was found in Lagos.
He also countered Olayinka’s statement that the minister rented an apartment for television personality, Mo Abudu, Abudu had already denied that.
The lawyers therefore demanded that Olayinka must apologise to Amaechi, issue a retraction and pay a compensation of N750 million to Amaechi for allegedly defaming character.
Fani-Kayode has not responded yet because there was no court letters to that effect.
Olayinka said he hasn’t received any letter either.
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