The embattled leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have threatened to drag Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and activist, to court over allegations of defamation.
The Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun, and the National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, through their counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, have written separate letters to Adeyanju, demanding an immediate retraction of the alleged defamatory statements made against them on social media platforms.
The letters, which were made available on Thursday in Abuja, accused Adeyanju of intentionally making inflammatory and derogatory remarks against the persons of Damagun and Anyanwu.
The lawyer alleged that Adeyanju’s actions were motivated by a desire to disparage and assassinate the duo’s reputation before their supporters, party members, and other members of society.
Specifically, Adeyanju was accused of describing Damagun as a “Tea man who goes to serve tea in Femi Gbajabiamila’s House” and Anyanwu as a “Kilishi Man” who goes to serve “Kilishi” at the residence of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Adeyanju was also accused of alleging that Damagun and Anyanwu had failed to lead the PDP as a credible opposition party in the country. The lawyer claimed that Adeyanju’s statements had exposed their clients to serious political embarrassment, psychological trauma, and unquantifiable humiliation.
Damagun and Anyanwu have demanded that Adeyanju retract his statements and tender an apology in national dailies and other social media platforms within three days of receiving the letter. Failure to comply with this demand may result in civil and criminal litigations.
It is worth noting that Adeyanju has been a vocal critic of the PDP leadership. Damagun and Anyanwu have been accused of serving the interests of the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike rather than the party’s.
