The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has said that the Director of Special Projects and New media of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode’s “regret” over his unguarded coup allegation, was not enough without a public apology issued to him (Atiku) and the military.
Atiku stressed that there should be a fine line between political propaganda and crime, adding that when a person in the calibre of a former minister is unable to differentiate between the two, it becomes worrisome. He therefore said that Fani-Kayode’s allegation of a planned coup should not be taken lightly.
He said; “Such juvenile drivel must not be tolerated, not even in the name of politics”.
These were contained in a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant, Public Communication to Atiku, in which he said that to ensure that Fani-Kayode was truly remorseful of his self-confessed lie that the PDP presidential candidate met with army generals with the aim of executing a coup against the democratically elected government of President Muhammadu Buhari, he has to tender an unreserved public apology to the former Vice President of Nigeria.
The Department of State Services had on Monday grilled Fani-Kayode for six hours following a series of tweets wherein he irresponsibly claimed that Atiku had met with some army generals in a bid to perpetrate a coup.
After his release, Fani-Kayode stated at a press conference that he regretted making the comments and he would guard his statements in the future.
But, Shaibu said Fani-Kayode’s “regret” was not enough without a public apology issued to Atiku and the military.
In the words of Shaibu; “Fani-Kayode’s regret is a step in the right direction, but this is not sufficient. Who exactly is he apologising to? He needs to be specific. He needs to apologise to Waziri Atiku Abubakar for trying to impugn his character. He also needs to apologise to the military for denigrating that revered institution.
“Fani-Kayode is a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with over two million followers across social media platforms. He is a lawyer and ought to understand the implication of libel.
“Apart from the criminal aspect of his tweets, he has also committed defamation thus, must be made to apologise for his inane insinuations,” he said.
Accordingly, Shaibu demanded that Fani-Kayode’s public apology to Atiku should be published in three newspapers, including The Nation and their online editions for seven days consecutively beginning from today, Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
He noted that Fani-Kayode has a penchant for making specious allegations, stressing that he had been treated like a sacred cow for too long, which has emboldened him over the years.
Shaibu served notice that if Fani-Kayode fails to tender a public apology for criminally defaming Atiku, he may need to offer explanation in the court of law.
