THE Leadership newspaper, one of Nigeria’s best, having realized its indiscretion, poor judgment and obvious gaffe in providing a propaganda platform for a band of fraudsters under the aegis of the amorphous International Human Rights Monitor, to slander and defame the Nigerian ambassador, Professor Anthony Ade Adefuye, has tendered an exceptionally noble apology.
Professor Adefuye has also responded with an equally gracious magnanimity, saying he has forgiven the trespassers of the newspaper organization and the erring editor, Chuks Ohuegbe.
Adefuye said that he kept a dignified silence in the face of wrongful allegations and unfair conclusions of those who investigated Leadership’s false reports because it was beneath his office to be joining issues with fraudsters.
Ambassador Adefuye said he also showed restraint out of concern for the transformational agenda of government of Nigeria, so as not to be seen as hounding and throwing its citizens into jail abroad in considering the serious allegations of fraud against the organizers of the “mega protest” promoted by the Leadership newspapers.
The ambassador however maintained that in spite of the need to protect every law-abiding citizens of Nigeria, home and overseas, Mrs. Carol Olubufunmi must now face prosecution to prove the veracity of her allegation of being given over half a million dollars by Mrs. Amina Sambo, wife of Nigeria’s Vice-President Sambo, in respect of a women conference which turned out to be a fake one.
According to the ambassador, the matter will now be reported to both Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Washington DC police department.
In its letter to Ambassador Adefuye’s Detroit-based attorneys at the law firm of Benjamin Whitfield Jr. to acknowledge receipt of the litigation notice received from the law firm on Sunday, the management of Leadership newspapers said its publication was done without any intention of malice or to disparage the image of Mr. Adefuye.
“We have removed from our website the entire publication concerning your client,” the letter dated July 23rd stated, adding that the publication has “ceased any further defamatory publication against your client.”