Igboho and Ayinde, in separate pre-action letters by their lawyers, demanded that Adams should retract the said assassination claim against them or they would drag him to court.
Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, more commonly called Sunday Igboho, and Tayo Ayinde, the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, have threatened to take legal action against the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams, for allegedly accusing them of an assassination plot.
Igboho and Ayinde, in separate pre-action letters by their lawyers, demanded that Adams should retract the said assassination claim against them or they would drag him to court.
According to PUNCH, Adams declined comments on the matter when contacted, saying: “No comment on that. No comment.”
It was reported that in a pre-action letter dated March 20, 2024, Ayinde’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), demanded that Adams should retract the allegation “without any need on my client’s part to press you further on the subject.”
Olumide-Fusika said that the pre-action letter was informed by the content of a press release issued by Igboho, titled: “I did not take part in killing Chief Bola Ige.”
According to the lawyer, Igboho said the press release was in reaction to some allegations against him in a viral voice note made by Adams.
“In the press release, Chief Sunday Adeyemo claimed to be reacting to "issues raised by the voice notes going around on social media released by Aare Gani Adams,’ which ‘attacked his character’,” Olumide-Fusika was quoted as saying.
He said that his client’s name was mentioned in Igboho’s press release, a situation that had made many people from within and outside Nigeria to inundate him with phone calls, prompting him to go and listen to the said voice note.
Olumide-Fusika further said that the 10th paragraph of Igboho’s press release suggested that Adams claimed that Ayinde hired Igboho to assassinate him (Adams).
He said that Adams in a viral voice note, was allegedly heard saying in Yoruba language, “I would send you a letter signed and sent by these people to Tinubu, imploring him to stop wasting time and give them the go-ahead to eliminate me (Adams).
“The letter was signed by them and sent to Tinubu’s Bourdillon address, and it was received there. Those are the characters in the circle of this thoughtless fellow; he covets their association. My enemy’s friend is my enemy. He (Igboho) says we should combine forces to liberate our people, but he is in bed with enemies of our cause.
“So, be careful associating with Igboho. Just last night, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff. He was heavily paid. You know that I have an extensive intelligence network as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. Until about 2:45am, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff, who Tinubu also uses in Lagos to coordinate the execution of his evil machinations. He has been doing work of that nature for Tinubu since his days in the SSS.
“He resigned from the SSS, Ibadan to concentrate fully on such work for Tinubu, who compensated him with the office of Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor.
“It was at his hotel somewhere in Ikeja, Lagos, that Igboho visited him to collect money for logistics to confront me. Igboho left lbadan at about midnight to attend this meeting which ended at about 2:45am.
“Tayo Ayinde gave N45m in cash to Igboho for the operation, thus shortchanging Igboho to the tune of N5m out of the N50m purse provided by Tinubu. The discovery of this has brewed disenchantment in their midst.”
Olumide-Fusika described the alleged claims by Adams as injurious to the person of his client, asking him to retract the claim.
He said, “You will agree with me that the imputations in the above are as serious and damaging, as those who have listened to the ‘voice notes’ have represented it to my client by their telephone calls and visits. It includes that my client is complicit in a conspiracy to murder you (Adams), and is in fact the coordinator of the phantom operation.
“Given your own experience in life, I am sure you will appreciate how painful it is to be unjustly accused, as you have done in this instance against my client.”
Olumide-Fusika added, “My instructions are, therefore, to respectfully demand that you retract the false and wicked allegation, either through another voice note to go round the same social media, or by a press release referencing and recanting the allegation.
“I do believe that this gentlemanly request will be voluntarily heeded by you without any on my client’s part to press you further on the subject.”
Also, Igboho in a letter by his lawyer, J.A. Sanusi, dated March 18, 2024 and addressed to Adams, said that he had been inundated with several calls “over the unfortunate lies peddled by you (Adams) against him (our client).”
Igboho’s lawyer said that Nigerians all over the world wished to confirm the veracity of the said “malicious interview or phone calls you (Adams) had with a person unknown that has become subject of public embarrassment and caused serious odium against the person of our client.”
Igboho in the letter asked Adams to retract the allegations, and also demanded the sum of N500 million in compensation.
The Yoruba Nation agitator’s letter partly read, “You (Adams) are aware that there is an audio clip which is presently going viral on all new media platforms where you have alleged the following against our client (Sunday Igboho) viz:
“That our client is an assassin who used to work for His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“That our client is rumoured to be one of the persons that assassinated the late Chief Bola Ige, SAN, together with one Fryo.
“That our client was involved in a series of murder cases but escaped prosecution as a result of his political connection.
“That our client received the sum of Forty-Five Million Naira (N45,000,000.00) sometime in 2022 to carry out some dirty works for His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; and
“That our client swindled Nigerians in diaspora for a fake self-determination agenda of the Yoruba race.”
According to the letter, Igboho wished to inform Adams “That the malicious lies against our client only exist in the figment of your imagination as our client is a law-abiding citizen, whose only offence at the time was to protect the interest of the Yoruba race, a responsibility which you were ordinarily saddled to discharge but failed to so do.”
Igboho's lawyer stressed that the false outburst had not only caused embarrassment but also economic losses to Igboho.
“It is in the light of the above that we call on you to forthwith retract all the negative comments (highly defamatory too) made against the person of our client which has just been released to the social media, including YouTube platform,” he added, saying that Igboho would be seeking redress in the court should Adams fail to meet his demands.