Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has made it clear to the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari who is threatening to sue him for libel, that immunity in the Nigerian constitution, allows him him as governor to say anything and get away with it.
The governor was reacting to a letter written to him by Counsel to Mrs. Buhari, Mary Ekpere & Co, dated June 22, 2016, demanding a retraction of the governor’s statement that her client was involved in the Halliburton scandal, threatening a legal action if the retraction is not made within five days.
Fayose responded by saying that for now, he is enjoying the immunity granted to him as governor by the Nigerian constitution and therefore asked the President’s wife to wait until the end of his tenure on October 16, 2018 when his tenure expires before going ahead with a defamation case on her alleged link with the Halliburton scandal.
In a letter by his counsel, Mike Ozekhome, the Ekiti state governor emphasized that he is enjoying constitutional immunity from civil and criminal proceedings during the period he occupies the office of the governor.
The governor maintained in the letter that the statement he made regarding the alleged involvement of Mrs. Buhari in the Halliburton scandal was “correct and justified in law, having regards to a court judgment convicting one Mr. William Jefferson of bribery in the case.”
The governor’s lawyer insisted that the statement of his client was correct and justified, having been factually premised on an existing court judgment.
The letter reads: “Our client has referred to us your letter dated 22nd June, 2016, on alleged defamation of the character of your client , Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, with firm instructions to reply to and reject same in its entirety.
“Our client states and reaffirms categorically that the statement he made as regards the involvement of Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Buhari, in the Halliburton scandal, is correct and justified in law; having regards to a court judgement convicting one Mr. William Jefferson for bribery in the Halliburton case.
“Therein, the name of the President’s wife featured conspicuously. At page 22 of the said judgment delivered by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, USA, in criminal No 1: 07CR209, the said Mr. William Jefferson was sentenced at 9:00am on November 13, 2009, by Mark D, Lytle. Your client, Mrs. Aisha Buhari was specifically mentioned in the judgment.” [myad]
