Former Nigerian aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has reacted to Karl Von Batten-Montague-York's planned $36 million lawsuit against him and President Bola Tinubu in the United States. The Washington-based lobbying and advisory firm, which reportedly works for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, announced the planned lawsuit in a post on X on Wednesday. Fani-Kayode, however, has questioned Von Batten's authority to sue him and the President.
In a statement released on Thursday, Fani-Kayode expressed his skepticism about Von Batten's claims, stating that he was not concerned about the legal action. He accused Von Batten of making allegations against Tinubu, the Federal Government, and himself without evidence, including claims that they planned to kidnap, detain, physically harm, or kill him. Fani-Kayode also questioned why Von Batten needed to be "cleared and authorised" to sue him and the President.
Fani-Kayode strongly criticized Von Batten, describing him as a "shameless clown" and an "ex-convict" who has been contracted by Atiku Abubakar to distract the President, the Government, and him from their crucial work and the presidential campaign. He challenged Von Batten to provide evidence of the threats he alleged, stating that he was not losing any sleep over the threats. Fani-Kayode also accused Von Batten of being a liar, slanderer, scammer, coward, bully, and merchant of falsehood.
The former aviation minister also questioned Von Batten's credibility, citing his past actions, including inflating a ceremonial unpaid education seat into a Trump government credential. He expressed doubt that Von Batten could be taken seriously and emphasized that Nigeria is not a Banana Republic where the Government targets, kidnaps, harms, or kills opposition figures.
Fani-Kayode stated that he would not be intimidated by Von Batten's threats and would instead be demanding at least $100 million for libelous falsehood and vicious slander against his person in a duly constituted court of law in the United States. He also threatened to seek Von Batten's lawful extradition from America to answer for his numerous violations of Nigeria's Cybercrime laws and criminal defamation.
The planned lawsuit is the latest development in the ongoing feud between Fani-Kayode and Von Batten, who has accused the former aviation minister and President Tinubu of being part of a corrupt, criminal syndicate involved in transnational terrorism. Fani-Kayode has denied these allegations, describing them as baseless and absurd.
The case is set to be heard in a US court, with Fani-Kayode's lawyers expected to respond to Von Batten's planned lawsuit. The outcome of the case remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: Fani-Kayode is not backing down from the challenge.
Key points
- Fani-Kayode has questioned Karl Von Batten's authority to sue him and President Bola Tinubu in the United States.
- Fani-Kayode has accused Von Batten of making baseless allegations against him, the President, and the Federal Government.
- Fani-Kayode is planning to demand at least $100 million for libelous falsehood and vicious slander against his person in a US court.
