Kwankwaso threatens N10bn suit against Primate Ayodele over claims he was paid to be Obi’s running mate

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, vice-presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), has threatened to file a N10 billion defamation suit against Primate Elijah Ayodele, founder and head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Oke Afa, Lagos, over remarks he says were false and damaging to his reputation.

Kwankwaso’s lawyers, Magaji Mato Ibrahim SAN & Co, accused the cleric of making false, malicious and derogatory statements capable of harming their client’s reputation and political integrity.

In a letter dated June 11, 2026, and shared on X on Wednesday by Kwankwaso’s media aide, Saifullahi Hassan, the lawyers said their client’s attention had been drawn to a viral publication attributed to Ayodele, which had circulated on social media as well as local and international news platforms.

According to the letter, Ayodele, while addressing his congregation in a sermon that was recorded and livestreamed, suggested that Kwankwaso was insincere in his political alliance with Peter Obi and had been financially induced to serve as his running mate.

The lawyers quoted the cleric as saying Kwankwaso was “a fake to Obi”, would “betray” Obi, and had “been paid to be vice president to Obi”.

The lawyers argued the remarks directly attacked Kwankwaso’s credibility and political integrity as the NDC’s vice-presidential candidate, describing them as “deliberate, premeditated, false, unprovoked, grossly unfounded and unsubstantiated”. They said the statements portrayed their client to “right-thinking members of society” as deviant, hypocritical, deceitful and insincere and were intended to tarnish the reputation Kwankwaso had built over the years while sowing division among NDC members and supporters.

The solicitors gave Ayodele 24 hours to issue a full and unequivocal retraction and public apology across the same social media platforms and news outlets where the alleged statements circulated, demanding the retraction carry equal visibility and prominence.

They also demanded a written undertaking that the cleric would cease publishing or republishing any defamatory content against Kwankwaso through any medium going forward.

The lawyers warned that failure to meet the demands within the given timeframe would lead to legal action, stating they had instructions to pursue substantial damages of N10 billion plus costs on a full indemnity basis, “without further recourse” to the cleric.