• I’m yet to be served court papers –Gani Adams
Hostility between the two rival factions of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) threatened a fresh peak during the week, when the founder and President, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, took the National Coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, to court for libel.
Fasehun is asking for N50 billion damages for an interview Adams granted a news magazine (not Newswatch) some weeks ago. In the said interview, Adams was quoted as saying that Fasehun was capable of killing, and that he could do anything for money.
In a suit filed at an Abuja High Court by Habib Oredola & Co, counsels to Fasehun, last Wednesday, the OPC founder said the interview had done damage to his reputation. He complained that it was made worse by the fact that it was placed on the social media.
The implication, according him, is that a wrong impression of his character had been sent to his admirers worldwide through the Net. Consequently, he is asking for N50 billion as damages. However, no date has been fixed for hearing.
Sunday Newswatch checks revealed that Fasehun earlier wrote to the news magazine asking for an apology within seven days of publication, or that it be prepared to defend the story in court. According to sources, Fasehun also sent a copy of the letter to Otunba Adams.
When contacted, Adams confirmed that the magazine forwarded a copy of the letter to him, but insisted that he did not get the letter from Fasehun. He said he had not been served court papers, and that he would respond when he is eventually served.
“I did not get a letter asking for apology within seven days from him (Fasehun). I was copied by the concerned magazine. I’ve not been served the court papers. I am hearing about it for the first time. Did you say N50 billion? No problems. He has said worse things about me in the past, and I have what he said with me,” he posited.
Fasehun could not be reached for his comment. However, one of his close friends, who pleaded anonymity, said it would not be proper to speak on a case coming up in court.
The organisation, OPC, was formed in 1994 with the sole aim of defending Yoruba interest. Historically, the idea for its formation was muted at a meeting held at Number 110, Palm Avenue in the Mushin area of Lagos on August 25, 1994. There were nine people at the meeting, which began at 3.30pm and ended at 5.30pm. According to those present at the meeting, two names were suggested for the organisation. These were Oodua National Progress and Oodua Peoples Congress. Oodua Peoples Congress eventually became the preferred name.
Crisis, allegedly engendered by internal disagreements over financial impropriety among the group’s leadership, however, began in the same year, 1994, with the two factions clashing in several Yoruba towns and villages, resulting in the killing of many of their members.
On October 22, 2005, both Fasehun and Adams were arrested as a result of the several clashes. The two leaders reconciled in detention, and for a while, relative peace returned to the organisation.
Former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, intervened at a stage, and persuaded Fasehun to give Adams a role in the organisation. Fasehun consequently named Adams, national co-ordinator, while he remained the founder and president of the organisation.
Of recent, there were acerbic criticisms from both factions, which prompted the deputy coordinator, Mr. Ogunloye Odunayo, to address a press conference in Lagos on April 27, 2013, warning that the organisation would not hesitate to give the office of the national coordinator, which Adams was occupying, to somebody else, if he did not desist from insulting Fasehun on the pages of newspapers.
It is estimated that the organisation, which has Fasehun and Adams combining the roles of dominant personalities and major spokespersons for their respective factions, boasts of over six million members across Yorubaland.
Source: Daily Newswatch
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