All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader,
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has threatened to sue
the owners of African Independent Television (AIT)
for airing a documentary he deemed slanderous
“in all respects”.

In a letter dated March 2, 2015, to the management
of Daar Communications Limited, owners of AIT,
Tinubu gave the organization 24 hours to apologize
and retract the publication.

“We are surprised that your media house – and we
hold you responsible for the documentary – lacks
simple ability to know what is justifiable for
publication or understand that freedom of
expression does not include deliberate defamation
of character,” Tinubu said in the letter by his
lawyer, Tunji Abayomi.

According to Premium Times, the hour-long
documentary, aired on March 1 at 11 p.m.,
titled“Unmasking the Real Tinubu” showcased
various properties and companies across Lagos
state purportedly owned by the APC national
leader, describing him as “ Nigeria’s biggest
landlord”.

The programme also claimed that Tinubu was
“charged for narcotics” in 1993 in the United
States.

Tinubu said that since he was not running for
political office, he found the publication about his
life“utterly absurd, disrespectful of media
responsibility, ethically abusive, malicious and
unbecoming of a public institution raised into
prominence by shareholders’ funds”.

“More disturbing is your representation that the
said documentary was ‘sponsored’ without
disclosing the ‘sponsors’. You cannot under law,
hide under media freedom or freedom of
expression to maliciously injure a citizen’s
reputation,” Tinubu said.

Tinubu warned the TV station against a repeat
broadcast of the documentary which he further
described as “indefensibly false and malicious.”
“Also note that we are claiming damages of N20
billion from your Company/Media house for the
expressly defamatory publication in issue. Failure
of which, we will immediately initiate an action
against you.”

It would be recalled that the Presidential Campaign
Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) has reportedly alleged that Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu, is plotting to become the President of
Nigeria through what it called the “back door” .

http://gist212.com/2015/03/bola-tinubu-threatens-ait-with-lawsuit-over-documentary/