Actress Yewande Adekoya’s lawyer in a new letter is seeking redress against Journalist Kemi Ashefon who recently reported that the actress was involved in a credit card fraud in the US and was detained.
The actress after the report went viral debunked the story as false and even did a live video proving she was not in any way detained. During the live video, she also stated that she had not visited the USA recently, talk more of been arrested, as reported.
Read the letter below:
31st December, 2017
The CEO,
Kemiashefonlovehaven
Lagos, State.
Attention: Mrs. Kemi Ashefon
RE: LIBELOUS AND SCANDALOUS PUBLICATION AGAINST THE PERSON OF MRS YEWANDE ADEKOYA ABIODUN POPULARLY KNOWN AS “OMO ELEMOSHO”.
The above captioned refers.
Please be informed that we are the retained solicitors to Mrs Yewande Adekoya Abiodun popularly known as “Omo Elemosho” herein called our “Client” and on whose instruction we write.
You will recall you made several libelous, untrue and obviously sponsored publications concerning our client on 26th and 27th December, 2017 wherein you claimed inter alia that she was being incarcerated by the authorities of the United State of America for credit card fraud related offences.
It will be of interest to know that your claims are false, malicious and baseless. However, for proper understanding and comprehension of the events as stated by you, we shall however break it down to aid the proper delivery of our rejoinder.
BACKGROUND:
Our Client is a young married woman who in the last decade has successfully and painstakingly through serious hardwork created a niche for herself in the Nigerian Entertainment Industry, Most especially in the movie sector. Asides featuring in movies produced by her colleagues, she also has to her credit some personally produced movies which include and not limited to, “Omo Elemosho”, “Kurukuru”, “Irubo”, “Iyawo Adedigba”, etc. It is noteworthy to further reiterate that our Client is not just a seasoned Actress, but an award winning script writer whose intellectual works have earned her several National and International recognitions.
Yewande enjoys endorsement deals locally and internationally as a result of her exposure, experience, dedication, resilience, passion and professionalism in the industry. Her relationship with colleagues in the industry is second to none whilst she also maintains a good and cordial relationship within her home and fan base. Additionally, it will be worthy to state that she is an humble and responsible citizen with the aim of taking her profession to the highest level, no doubt her movie , “Iyawo Adedigba” was the first ever Yoruba Traditional Epic Movie to be premiered and shown in the modern day Nigerian Cinemas.
Yewande is married to a colleague and the marriage is blessed with a girl.
YOUR STORY
On the 26th and 27th December, 2017 your humble self via your online blog and instagram page wrote an exclusive report involving our client where you falsely and scandalously stated that she was being held by the authorities of the United State of America for fraud related offences. These story was also reproduced by other bloggers and media outfits both online and offline. You wrote that she had been in detention in the US since October 2017. You went ahead to state that her International passport had being seized from her which means that she will not be able to return to the country anytime soon since serious investigations were ongoing. (Even after our client debunked the story online via her publicist on the 26th of December 2017 and also went LIVE on instagram from LTV 8 Location ikeja Lagos to proof that your story is untrue and malicious, you went ahead on the 27th of December to assert that your story is true and that your source can not be wrong about the fact that our client is under house arrest in the US and you also stated categorically that you are ready to face the consequences that the story might bring. As a result of your assertion, our client went LIVE on instagram again on the 27th of December from The Governor’s Park Alausa ikeja to further proof she is actually in Nigeria and that nothing of such ever happened.
THE TRUE STORY
It will interest you that our Client as at the time of your false publication was actually in Nigeria and enjoying the yuletide season with her family and she was not even in the United States on the date and month you laid claims to. It is however, disheartening that a Journalist of your caliber would actually bring up a story without sound proof and verification from other sources. This act of yours led us to suspect that your story might actually be sponsored. Madam, it is quiet unfortunate and unprofessional of you.
Furthermore, we also wish to state that our client in the past few months has been very busy with a few projects both at movie locations and other official commitments which her colleagues in the industry can testify to. We can tell you frankly that Yewande Adekoya Abiodun did not at any point in time travel out of Nigeria in the year 2017.
Please take note that should this matter finally get to court, we shall be willing to exhibit our client’s international passport and call other key witnesses.
EFFECTS
Sequel to your unprofessional and uncivilized act, it will interest you that not only has your unprofessional work created an unbalanced mental state for our client which has also made her lose some opportunities, endorsements and sponsorship deals, the effect of this on our Client’s career, family and finances cannot be over emphasized. You have indeed caused an unliquidated damages which will need a proper adjudication by the proper channel if our demands are not respectfully met.
OUR DEMANDS
Our Client has once again exhibited her humility and gentility as she respectfully demands for the following within seven days of receiving this letter through any means recognizable by law-
a. Retraction of the issued false stories/statements about our client
b. A formal public apology to be directed to our client
c. Flagging down of all the false stories written about Yewande Adekoya Abiodun on your blog, instagram page and all other news media pages and outfits where the stories were replicated both online and offline as a result of your blunder
In conclusion, having clearly stated the true position of events, we hope you thread on the path of honour by meeting up to the demands of our client as stated above, however should you fail to honour same, we would be left with no option than to seek for proper redress in Court of law where not just the said demands will be awarded but also damages in monetary terms.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Signed
Temitope Salami
