Former aide to ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, Umar Sani, has replied billionaire businessman Femi Otedola over his threat of a N1 billion libel suit.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Otedola directed his lawyers to file the suit against Mr Sani following comments linking him to fuel subsidy fraud under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
He said his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, never traded in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the only product eligible for subsidy claims and therefore could not have benefitted from the scheme.
The businessman also said he was the first to alert Jonathan’s government to fraud in the subsidy programme, which led to parliamentary investigations.
He referenced his role in the Farouk Lawan bribery scandal, stating he acted in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS) in a sting operation that eventually led to Lawan’s conviction.
Otedola called on President Bola Tinubu to release the full report of the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede panel on subsidy fraud, insisting the public deserves to know the truth.
Responding to the threat in a post on X on Monday, Sani said he would address the matter on Arise TV.
“I will be on Arise TV at 3 p.m. to respond to these assertions. The courts are institutions no Nigerian of good conscience should ever fear to approach,” he wrote.
He maintained that courts are institutions no Nigerian should fear to approach.
Umar Sani, in an earlier reaction, described Otedola’s position as a “hypocritical, selective and convenient rewriting of history,” arguing that the businessman was a beneficiary of the subsidy scheme.
