UK journalist sues online publisher for N100M

In June, Mr Fatodu told Pulse during an exclusive interview that Sowore—who was his friend for over two decades before they fell apart only recently---did vow to blackmail him if a bribe of N100M from a contract he executed with the Nigerian government, wasn’t paid him.

"Sowore demanded N100M from me as bribe. He said N1.7B was transferred to my account. That out of it, I got a share of N500M. He said that out of my share, I should give him N100M," Fatodu said.

He had added that: "Sowore told me that if I don't give him N100M from the infamous loot, he'll run the story.

"Besides, what I executed for the Nigerian government at the time, was a legitimate business transaction which cost nowhere near N1.7B. I don't know where Sowore got his bogus figures from”.

Fatodu had also sent Pulse screen shots of his chats with the Sahara Reporters publisher and an audio conversation allegedly containing the bribe request. You can read the

The suit

In the suit filed at an Ikeja High Court with number ID/ADR/492/2017, Fatodu is claiming N100M in damages from the online publisher.

The suit named Sowore Omoyele, Sahara Reporters Media Foundation and the online publication Sahara Reporters as defendants.

In the court documents made available to Pulse, the claimant stated that a publication by Sahara Reporters claiming that he and his company, Leeman Communications Ltd, were used by a former minister, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode to launder N1.7B which was part of the controversial Dasuki arms funds, was highly injurious to his hard-earned name and had impugned his reputation.

He also said he has lost businesses and clients no thanks to the injurious publication from an old friend.

According to Fatodu; “My case against Sowore and Sahara Reporters is peculiar because I am an ordinary citizen; not the usual public official who can easily be blackmailed into silence by Sowore using the online platform.

“But my concern is really for potential innocent victims of this criminality who may not have the guts to publicly defend and pursue a legal action in similar instances".

Anti-fake news campaign

Fatodu also tells that his court action against the famous online publisher is aimed at sanitising the Nigerian media space and ridding the land of his birth of fake news.

According to Fatodu; “Therefore I have started an advocacy against fake news which began in June with the first in Nigeria which was held in front of Sahara Reporters' Lagos office.

"And that has been followed with development of a good communication channel and skill service to help victims raise their issues and embolden them to stay strong in fighting their cases.

“The N100M being demanded for damages on my reputation will be used for a special purpose vehicle that is for the creation of Citizens Advise Bureau similar to what they have in the UK.

“But this will be established essentially to help the victims of blackmail, fake news and cyberbullying. And the figure is the same amount Sowore criminally demanded from me to stop him from publishing the defamatory story he cooked up against me. I want it to be a cross of shame he will carry in his heart for a long time to come".

Fight to finish

Fatodu also told Pulse that he’ll pursue the case against his old friend to a logical conclusion.

"I am committed to following this matter to a favourable conclusion and getting justice which will be used as a strong warning to vicious blackmailers who parade themselves as online publishers and journalists,” he vowed.

Fatodu and Sowore were both buddies who graduated from the University of Lagos in Nigeria's Southwest region. It was from the institution that they both journeyed abroad to pursue their respective dreams.

Fatodu had gotten Sowore arrested in January of 2017 as matters reached a nasty head.

ALSO VIEW: Lekan Fatodu talks about Sahara reporters demanding a bribe from him

In June, Pulse had tried to get Sowore’s side of the story with no success.

Before putting this story together,had also rang Sowore’s number with no one picking up from the other end of the line.