Former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has separated from his wife, Precious Chikwendu fondly referred to as Snow White, with whom he had four sons.
A blogger, Stella Dimokorkus, had in a report attributed the separation to domestic violence and alleged that the triplet sons may not have been fathered by Fani-Kayode as they were conceived through IVF and Chikwendu had demanded a DNA test.
In a pre-litigation letter signed by Fani-Kayode’s lawyer, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, dated September 16, 2020, the former minister described the report as preposterous.
He is demanding N2bn from her for a report he termed libelous.
The letter titled: ‘Defamation of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode- Re: Femi Fani-Kayode and Precious Chikwendu Part Ways Over Alleged Domestic Violence’, stated that the allegations were spurious and maliciously engineered.
The former minister said he was disturbed about the manner in which the report was written which insults the sensibilities of unsuspecting readers.
He denied allegations that he retrieved the car he bought for his estranged wife and had left her broke.
He also said it was saddening that his innocent little children could be dragged into such a report, subjecting them to ridicule.
“Our client is aggrieved and has instructed us to draw your attention to these libelous breaches of his person and family. By this publication, our client has received denigrating phone calls and messages across the globe by virtue of which he now sufferers immeasurable loss of goodwill.
“However, he is inclined to draw a curtain over the wild and spurious claims if you retract the allegations on the same platform they were published and consequently apologise to him in two other national dailies.
“You are also advised to enter into negotiations with us for the sum of two billion naira only being a token amount for penitence. Please bear in mind that you have 14 days from receipt of this letter to comply with the highlighted mitigating measures, the failure of which will leave our client with no preferred alternative than to seek redress in court.”
Fani-Kayode and Chikwendu, who is a former beauty queen, became an item around 2015 and welcomed a son in 2016 and triplet sons subsequently.
Chikwendu’s family member also denied the report of domestic violence.
‘‘I never witnessed any domestic violence incident but I am aware that they are separated and are not staying together as we speak, but reports of domestic violence are very funny and malicious.