Nigerian businessman, Femi Otedola, has instructed his lawyers to file a N1 billion lawsuit against Umar Sani, a former spokesperson to former Vice President Namadi Sambo.
“Because of these deliberate lies and unfounded allegations, I have instructed my lawyers to file a ₦1 billion libel suit against Umar Sani,” Otedola said in a statement.
“People must learn that reputations are not to be toyed with for cheap propaganda and also to serve as a deterrent for other mischief makers in the future. I will go to every extent that this is achieved.”
Sani accused Otedola, a Nigerian business mogul and an ally of Aliko Dangote, of benefitting from the petroleum subsidy, with his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., giving marked money to Farouk Lawan under the guise of a sting operation.
Otedola and Sani have been at loggerheads when the former waded into the ongoing fuel supply disagreement between the Dangote Refinery and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and advised DAPPMAN members to adapt to change.
According to business mogul, about N2 trillion was siphoned in questionable fuel subsidy claims during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2009 and 2015. He urged the Federal Government to release the report on subsidy claims.
However, Sani accused Otedola of feigning moral superiority in the ongoing duel between Dangote Refinery and DAPPMAN.
But Otedola accused the former aide of libel and attempting to rewrite history with distorted facts.
The Nigerian billionaire said Sani’s claims were attempted at twisting facts to drag his name “into disrepute and allegations of complicity in the subsidy fraud.
“His insinuations are false, baseless, and a shameless attempt to pander to lies and rewrite history.”
Otedola asked “Sani and others who peddle these half-baked stories” to go and read his recently-launched book Making It Big and “study the facts, and stop disgracing yourselves with ignorance.”
“I have nothing to hide, and I have always acted in the interest of truth and accountability. Those who benefited from subsidy fraud know themselves. I will not sit back and allow falsehood to be written into history,” Otedola said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
