Alwan Hassan, convener of North-South Progressive Alliance, must cough out a whopping N5billion within the next three weeks, as monetary compensation for his claim that Tunde Yusuf, President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew, is working against the ambition of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Hassan, had alleged on Channels Television on Monday that Yusuf, whom he said had a huge influence on the President, had been behind the new naira notes policy was capitalising on such closeness that Tinubu did not win the election.
“There is this kid called Sabi’u Tunde, he is the only one doing all these things. So he is trying to use that opportunity because he is very close to the president, he could manipulate everything or anything he wants to. It is just sad that a boy of that age will be doing all these things without looking at examples of other people that had done these things and where are they today.
“Everything that is happening on these Naira notes is Sabiu Tunde. He has spoken to a lot of people. He has told people that he is hell-bent on making sure we don’t win elections and that Asiwaju doesn’t win elections,” he had told his host during the programme.
Apparently peeved at the claim, the President’s aide in a letter dated February 8 to Hassan, through his solicitors, Wole Olanipekun & Co, not only described the allegations as “made up,” but demanded immediate retraction, apology and monetary compensations all to be done within 21 days, failure of which he would have to face a legal action.
The letter said: “Our client denies the allegations and references to him contained in your publications as made-up, concocted, fabricated, fictitious and deliberately erroneous,” the letter read.
“Your said publication was/is intended to reduce our client’s estimation in the eyes of well-meaning people. Presumably, your actions towards our client were eventuated by bad faith, spite and hatred. Our client’s reputation has been seriously damaged, and he has also suffered considerable distress and embarrassment. This is more so that, issues in respect of which you publicly laid the blame at the doorstep of our client are those which have garnered national attention and, in some reported instances, led to violent protests. Thus, your actions, in fact, put our client at risk of physical harm.”
Apart from the N5billion as damages for defamation, the presidential aide also demanded an an “unequivocal retraction of all allegations published by you about our client in the course of the above referenced telecast,” through the same medium and to be published in four widely-circulated newspapers in Nigeria.
The letter also demanded: “A public apology to our client to be issued vide the same channel(s) through which you published the initial defamatory remarks. Both the retraction and public apology should be published in at least four newspapers with coverage and circulation across all geo-political zones in Nigeria.
“In the event that you do not comply with our client’s above legitimate demands within 21 days of receipt of this letter, our client reserves the right to resort to all means legally permissible under various laws which you are subject to municipally and globally to seek the appropriate redress relating to the unwarranted attacks on his person and ascription of derogatory falsehood to his character by you.”
