Former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, dragged a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Kayode Otitoju and Arise Television for alleged defamation.
Feyemi filed a N500 million suit for defamation of character and malicious airing of offending broadcast against him.
In the suit, filed before an Ekiti State High Court on January 25, 2023, Fayemi is demanding N250 million from Otitoju and another N250 million from Arise TV for alleged defamatory statements made by the politician as an analyst on the television station on November 22, 2022.
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According to the Writ of Summons of the suit made available to journalists on Sunday, Fayemi through his lawyer, Babatunde Oke, is demanding a retraction of the defamatory statements aired against him by Otitoju while appearing as an analyst on Newsday, a programme of Arise TV.
The former governor is also demanding a public apology to himself which must be published in at least three prominent national newspapers in Nigeria and posted on the internet/social media.
Fayemi stated that he had been exposed and subjected to “unwarranted public ridicule, odium, opprobrium, embarrassment and unprecedented disrepute” on account of the defendants’ untrue and reckless malicious statements, which he described as mere fabrication and falsehood orchestrated to paint him black and taint his good image and record as an upright man and to destroy his future political career.
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He alleged that Otitoju made several grievous and damaging allegations against his person on the said programme, where he allegedly described him (Fayemi) as “the problem we have in Ekiti.”
According to Fayemi, Otitoju, on the programme, accused him of “conducting a nocturnal sitting at the Ekiti State House of Assembly to get the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, impeached and installed Bunmi Adelugba,” among others.
Fayemi said that he caused the firm of his lawyers “to write the defendants demanding a retraction of the offending statement/publication via letters dated November 25, 2022 and December 15, 2022 to comply with the demands therein, but which the defendants have refused to do.”
