The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagun, and the Acting National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, have both threatened legal action against lawyer and rights activist Deji Adeyanju over alleged defamatory remarks.
Through their counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, the PDP leaders have demanded that Adeyanju retract his statements and issue a public apology in national newspapers and on social media platforms. Failure to do so could result in both civil and criminal litigation.
The two separate letters, sent on December 4 and December 5, 2024, respectively, accuse Adeyanju of making inflammatory and derogatory remarks aimed at tarnishing the reputations of Damagun and Anyanwu. The letters specifically mention a podcast interview in which Adeyanju allegedly described Damagun as a “tea man” who serves tea at the residence of Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Anyanwu as a “Kilishi Man” who allegedly serves Kilishi at the Chief of Staff’s home.
The letters also accuse Adeyanju of criticizing the PDP leadership for failing to provide effective opposition to the current government, which allegedly undermined Damagun and Anyanwu’s political standing and caused them public embarrassment.
In the letters, the PDP leaders’ legal counsel insists that Adeyanju’s comments have caused significant damage to their clients’ reputations and political careers, and has led to humiliation, psychological trauma, and political embarrassment. They emphasized that while Adeyanju is entitled to his views, his criticism crossed the line into defamatory territory.
