Yep, these two maybe going to court because Bianca Ojukwu
has rejected Femi Fani Kayode's non- apology. Femi issued a statement last week
withdrawing his earlier claims that they had an 'intimate relationship' in the
past but Bianca's lawyers said the retraction was not sufficient and
satisfactory and have decided to go to court. Femi Fani Kayode this morning
responded to Bianca's lawsuit threat, insisting that he didn't lie and
threatened to reveal details of his 'relationship with her. Like Bianca, he has
also issued a statement threatening to sue. Read Mrs Ojukwu's statement below,
issued via her personal assistant, and find FFK's response after the cut...
“The attention of Her Excellency, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu
has been drawn to a statement purportedly issued by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode
through one Mr Akinola Babatunde Rotimi and published in the Daily Sun and
ThisDay Newspapers of September 6, 2013.The phantom claim in the said statement
that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu were once good friends
to the knowledge of mutual friends who are still alive is not only false,
baseless and typical, but a further attempt by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode to create
the impression of a connection between himself and Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu.
“Whilst it is important to reiterate that Ambassador Bianca
Ojukwu has never met Chief Femi Kayode and does not know him in person, it is
pertinent to note that the statement issued through Mr Akinola Babatunde
Rotimi, falls far short of an apology and retraction of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode’s
false and libelous outbursts and is merely a desperate attempt to lend credence
to fabrications, which he seeks to present as reality with intent to gloss over
the very serious issues arising from the reckless publication.
“In the circumstances, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu is left with
no option than to leave the matter in the hands of her lawyers.”
Femi Fani Kayode's statement...
"We read the comments of the P.A. to Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu
in the Sun Newspaper of 9th September and in a number of other newspapers where
she expressed the view that the withdrawal of the comments made about her by
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode were ''not enough''. We really do wonder what Mrs.
Ojukwu really wants from Chief Fani-Kayode and what her agenda really is?
Throughout this matter Chief Fani-Kayode has chosen the path of peace and has
attempted to avoid an ugly and public quarrel with Bianca Ojukwu out of respect
to the memory of her late father Chief C.C. Onoh and the memory of her late
husband, Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu . Consequently he has publiclly apologised
to her and the two other igbo ladies that he mentioned in the said article
(namely Miss Chioma Ansoh and Miss Adaobi Ucgegbu) on two separate occassions,
in three separate national newspapers and online. He has has also publically
withdrawn the words that they found offensive, he has edited the said article,
he has ensured that no newspaper in Nigeria that published it mentioned their
names in the revised version, he has admitted that the word ''intimate'' that
was used in the online version of the article was ''indiscreet'' and he has
bent over backwards to tread the path of peace and to appease all those
concerned. Despite all these efforts Bianca Ojukwu has refused to be appeased
or to let go and she has continued to peddle the shameless lie that she has
never met Chief Fani-Kayode. This is sad and unfortunate and it is beyond the
imagination of anyone that a serving Ambassador of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria would so readily and so easily be given to telling such lies. Chief
Fani-Kayode is not comfortable with publiclly joining issues with ladies when
it comes to matters of a private nature such as this because he was well
brought up and he is a gentleman but it is clear that Bianca Ojukwu is
desperate to go to war over this issue and to cover up the truth about their
past. It is also clear that she has constituted herself into the arrowhead of a
group of people that are determined to use her and this whole unsavoury episode
to attempt to distract attention from the wider and more important issues
raised in the essay and to discredit him. Since that is the case we welcome
whatever action Ojukwu wishes to take in court and we shall gladly meet her
there. We will also be instigating our own legal proceedings against her in due
course for her barefaced and malicious lies and her consistent claim that she
has never met Chief Fani-Kayode all in an attempt to libel, defame, diminish
and discredit him before the entire world. We wish to state clearly and
categorically that not only did Chief Fani-Kayode know her but he also knew her
far better than she cares to publiclly admit. The precise nature of that
relationship will be explored and exposed in open court. It is not in the
nature of Chief Fani-Kayode to fight unecessary and distractive battles over
flippant matters such as this but on this occassion he has been compelled to do
so simply because he will do whatever it takes to protect his integrity and
establish the fact that he has told no lie. Since she has continued her
shameless perfidy and wishes to tread the path of deceit and confrontation then
so be it. Finally let it be clearly understood that at no point did Chief
Fani-Kayode lie about the nature of his relationship with Ojukwu. However he
did not feel that it was appropiate or necessary to share the details of that
relationship with the public because he felt that such matters were strictly
private. The fact that she mistook his mature exercise of restraint and
discretion, even when provoked and insulted, his desire for peace and his
gentlemanly nature for weakness is not only unfortunate but also a grave
miscalculation on her part. Once again we reiterate the fact that we counsel
Ojukwu to take whatever course of action she pleases and we welcome this
opportunity to expose her for what she is. The matter has been referred to our
lawyers for final preparation. They will prepare a vigorous defence to Ojukwu's
absurd allegations and they will also determine our next line of action against
her''- Mr. Tosin Emmanuel, p.a. to Chief Femi Fani-Kayode
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