Libel Suit: Key Witness Presented By Kayode Fayemi Reveals How Ex-Governor Held Secret Meetings With Contractors To Demand Bribe

A pivotal witness presented by former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, collapsed under pressure on Wednesday as cross-examination exposed contradictions and damaging admissions in the ongoing defamation suit Fayemi v. Omoyele Sowore & SaharaReporters.

According to an eyewitness who monitored proceedings on 19 November 2025, the Claimant’s first witness, Barr. Ashishana Bayo Okauru, former Director-General of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, struggled to sustain the clean and glowing image he earlier painted of Fayemi.

Fayemi was absent in court but fiery human rights activist, Sowore, was present.

The witness, who had testified that he had known Fayemi since 1984 and described him as “upright and incorruptible,” came under intense scrutiny as defence counsel, Tope Temokun, confronted him with inconsistencies surrounding the Paris Club refund scandal, an issue central to the lawsuit.

Pressed about the controversial Paris Club Refund and allegations of bribe-seeking, the PW1 admitted that contractors involved in the debt processes held meetings with Fayemi and others, meetings he did not attend.

Crucially, he told the court he could not say whether bribes were exchanged but confirmed that “contractors said kick-back demands were made” at those meetings.

The single admission sharply undercut Fayemi’s claim that SaharaReporters and Sowore fabricated allegations of corruption.

Despite repeatedly praising Fayemi during his testimony, the witness conceded that outside the six years they worked closely, him as DG, Fayemi as Forum Chairman, he did not know much about the former governor’s private life.

Court observers said the concession further weakened his earlier portrayal of the Claimant as an unimpeachable public figure.

Under further cross-examination, another embarrassing detail emerged.

PW1 admitted that although Fayemi commissioned the Ekiti State Airport before leaving office in 2022, it was not until 2025, three years after the widely publicised commissioning, that he first read a report that an aircraft had actually landed there.

The revelation raised fresh questions about the legitimacy and functionality of the project Fayemi showcased as one of his signature achievements.

By the end of the vigorous session, several of the witness’s concessions had “struck directly at the credibility and foundation of the Claimant’s case,” according to the report.

The damaging testimony was so significant that counsel for the Claimant, S. I. Ameh, SAN, quickly applied for an adjournment, telling the court they intended to seek leave to call an additional witness, an unusual move at the stage of trial and a sign, observers say, of a shaken legal strategy.

Meanwhile the judge adjourned the matter to February 25 for continuation of proceedings. 

Background 

Sowore, the convener of #RevolutionNow, had filed a defence statement in response to a libel suit brought by Fayemi, against him and Sahara Reporters Limited. 

The defence statement was filed at a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

In a 47-paragraph defendants' joint statement of defence in suit No: FCT/HC/CV 2062/2021 between Fayemi as Claimant and Mr. Omoyele Sowore (founder Chairman & Director Sahara Reporters Limited, Publishers of Sahara Reporters) and Sahara Reporters Limited as 1st and 2nd Defendants, Sowore tells the court that the Claimant is a thief who has no reputation.

In the statement of defence, Sowore asks the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs, arguing that Fayemi has no reputation to protect. Sowore’s counsel, Temokun, submitted the statement on June 10, 2024, asserting that contrary to Fayemi's claims of piety and incorruptibility, the people of Ekiti State and Nigeria have a different perception of him.

The defendants argue that Fayemi's reputation is tarnished, and he has no grounds to claim libel.

The defendants pointed out that the claimant, Fayemi, was charged in January 2018 with financial impropriety offences in the High Court of Ekiti State (Charge No: HAD/5c/2018 - The State Vs. Dr. John Kayode Fayemi and Mr. Vincent Dapo Kolawole).

The charges included refusing to obey a witness summons, attempting to prevent or defeat the course of justice, criminal contempt, and abuse of office.

Additionally, the defendants alleged that Fayemi secured a N20 billion loan from a bank to build an international cargo airport in Ado Ekiti, despite rejecting an offer from Aare Afe Babalola to contribute to the project, claiming that the state had sufficient funds to complete the airport. 

This contradicts Fayemi's claims of uprightness and incorruptibility.

The defendants noted that the cargo airport in Ado-Ekiti, inaugurated on October 15, 2022, was not fully completed, despite claims by Fayemi that it was a world-class facility.

Fayemi had tweeted that the airport could accommodate large aircraft and had a terminal building capable of handling both local and international travellers.

However, the defendants argued that the airport remained unfinished, with no other aircraft landing there since its inauguration.

They also noted that the Ekiti State Government disclosed in its 2023 budget presentation that over N16.5 billion had been spent on the airport's construction, but the control tower, passenger terminal, and runway remained incomplete.

The defendants refer to a statement made by the Special Adviser to Governor Biodun Oyebanji on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, regarding the cargo airport in Ado-Ekiti.

Adebayo said that while military aircraft can land without navigational aids, commercial planes require a functional control tower, a new terminal, and adequate lighting infrastructure to ensure safe landings.

The defendants intend to rely on a report published by Leadership Newspaper on the cargo airport and allege that when the banks funding the project refused additional loans, the Ekiti State Government sought financial assistance from Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) to complete the project.

According to them, Babalola pledged N4 billion, with N2 billion already disbursed, but instead of appreciation, the claimant, Fayemi, has subjected Babalola to unjustified attacks in the media.

The defendants also mention a petition by concerned Ekiti citizens to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate alleged treasury looting by Fayemi, which they intend to rely on in the trial.

The defendants note that on May 19, 2021, Fayemi launched the "Ekiti Rice Pyramid" in Ado Ekiti State, with former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, in attendance. The project was aimed to support three million rice farmers and enhance the country's agricultural value chain.

However, the defendants argue that despite Fayemi's assurances that the project would increase Ekiti State's annual rice production from 34,700 to 15 million metric tonnes and create 12,000 jobs, the funds collected for the project were instead diverted during his tenure.

“Hence, Ekiti State did not join Kebbi, Ebonyi and other states that became rice producers through the Anchor Borrowers Programme,” the Defendants add.

 “The claimant is hereby given notice to produce the account of the money received from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the ‘Ekiti Rice Pyramid,’” the Defendants note.

The defendants accused Fayemi of diverting the London/Paris Club refund of N2.4 billion intended for the 16 local government councils in Ekiti State. They urged Fayemi to produce the account for the refund.

 The defendants also argue that Fayemi caused the Ekiti State Government to take a $20 million loan to combat COVID-19, despite a committee of Ekiti State indigenes raising funds and materials to fight the pandemic. The defendants allege that Fayemi diverted the loan.