President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has given Kaduna based businessman Kailani Mohammed a seven day ultimatum to retract alleged defamatory statements against him or face a N100 billion lawsuit. In a letter sent through his lawyer, Ogwu James Onoja (SAN), Dangote demanded a public explanation, retraction and unreserved apology over remarks made during a Trust TV interview.
Mohammed had questioned the source of Dangote’s wealth and claimed he engaged in “unclean business” in Port Harcourt in the 1980s. The comments were made while reacting to Dangote’s petition against former NMDPRA chief executive Farouk Ahmed, which alleged misuse of public funds and economic sabotage.
Dangote’s legal team said the statements were false, malicious and calculated to damage his reputation and business standing at home and abroad. The letter stated that the remarks portrayed him as a corrupt businessman who built his fortune through illegitimate means and uses vendetta and monopoly tactics against rivals.
The letter insisted that at no time has Dangote conducted any business or wealth generating activity in Port Harcourt, contrary to Mohammed’s claims. It argued that making such allegations on a national platform without evidence amounts to abuse of free speech and exposes Mohammed to civil and possible criminal liability.
Dangote is demanding that Mohammed withdraw the comments in full, issue a clear public apology with the same prominence as the original interview and pay N100 billion in damages for reputational harm and public ridicule. He also wants a written undertaking that there will be no further false or defamatory publications about him.
The businessman warned that failure to meet these conditions within seven days would leave him with no option but to file a defamation suit in court and seek aggravated damages. The dispute adds a new layer to the ongoing public spat surrounding Dangote’s petition to the ICPC against Farouk Ahmed and reactions from figures in the oil sector.
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