A legal case alleging character defamation has been filed by Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, against Gani Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland.
A leaked audio conversation disclosed by PUNCH Online revealed Adams implicating Igboho as an assassin purportedly contracted by President Bola Tinubu for illicit activities.
Adams also implied unverified connections to the assassination of the late Bola Ige, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, who was gunned down at his residence in Bodija, Ibadan, on December 23, 2001.
In the legal suit labeled I/406/2024 at an Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, Igboho is requesting a directive for the defendant to pay N500m in damages due to the leaked audio conversation that tarnished his reputation.
As per the legal documentation obtained by PUNCH Online in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, Igboho is seeking “a declaration that the content within an audio recording involving the defendant (Adams) and a third party named Nuru Banjo, dated around November 2021 and subsequently disseminated across various media platforms, including Youtube, constitutes slander, libel, and defamation.
“A demand for the court to affirm that it is illegal, inappropriate, and inexcusable for the defendant to malign, belittle, and shame the reputation of the claimant (Igboho) in an audio recording circulated across various media platforms, including Youtube, from a conversation between the defendant and a third party, Nuru Banjo, around November 2021 or thereabouts.
“An official instruction requiring the defendant to publicly retract the defamatory and slanderous content contained in the publication to Nuru Banjo, which was then propagated across all media platforms, including Youtube, where derogatory remarks were made against the claimant.
“An official command for the defendant to compel all media platforms, including YouTube, to take down the slanderous, libelous, and defamatory content directed at the claimant.
“An official decree for the defendant to issue an unreserved apology to the claimant in five national newspapers in Nigeria regarding the defamatory material broadcasted across all media platforms, including YouTube.
“An official injunction to prevent the defendant, his representatives, associates, or affiliates from further dishonoring, debasing, or tarnishing the reputation of the claimant.
“An official ruling for the payment of exemplary and aggravated damages totaling N500m in favor of the claimant due to the defendant’s defamation of the claimant. Legal costs estimated at N10m.”