Awujale of Ijebuland Oba Sikiru Adetona has sued singer Yinka Ayefele for N200 billion at Oyo State High Court over alleged defamation.
The monarch said in a statement of claim before the court that on December 22, 2019 during the course of a programme on Fresh FM owned by Ayefele titled ‘Talk your own with Chikito Duru’ some words were used which were meant to damage his reputation.
“The claimant has also been injured in his credit, character and reputation and has been lowered in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally and hurt in his feelings.
“The defendant published the said words concerning the claimant out of malevolence or spite to promote the defendant’s business with a view of increasing profit in terms of financial income and gain,” he maintained.
The Awujale, through his lawyer Ayanlaja Adesanya, insisted that Ayefele was aware that the said words were defamatory and are untrue, since it was alleged to have occurred in 1984, adding that the defendant was reckless to check whether or not the publication was true, but blinded by the prospect of the material advantage of using the person and office of the claimant to attract more listeners to it’s programmes.
“On May 2020, Dr. Fassy Yusuf, who is one of my chiefs, called my attention to the programme about my person and my office as the Awujale and paramount ruler at Ijebuland.
“However, in the early part of January 2020, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, whose name is mentioned in the discussion in the programme (which by then had not been brought to my knowledge), approached me that his boys came to him to request I pray for Ijebu so as to reverse the curse, which I put on them following the burning down of the factory of Wadai industries in 1984,” he said.
The monarch said he ignored the call for the reversal of the curse because none was made and there was no fire incident in the Wadai factory.
