Former Team Manager and Welfare Officer of Sunshine Stars Football Club, Mr. Seun Betiku and Mr. Ramon Abdulsalam, have filed a lawsuit against four individuals; Mr. Dele Omotayo, Mr. Shina Adeoye, Mr. Abiodun Kehinde, and Mr. Adebisi Ojo, over a defamatory publication allegedly circulated across multiple WhatsApp platforms.
The defendants, according to the suit, through their phone numbers, published damaging statements across forums comprising over 500 members.
The posts claimed that the duo were unqualified and professionally incompetent in the realm of football administration.
The publication went further to accuse Betiku and Abdulsalam of engaging in corrupt practices such as removing capable players from the team, fixing matches, extorting agents, and conducting backdoor dealings, all of which allegedly contributed to the decline of Sunshine Stars FC.
“Their corrupt practices were not hidden; they were done in broad daylight,” the post alleged. “They used their appointments to enrich their personal pockets,” it added.
A particularly damaging portion of the message, written in the form of an open letter to a high-ranking official, stated:
“Permit me, with all due reverence to your high office, to write this letter not only as a concerned citizen, but as the voice of thousands of Ondo State indigenes, football lovers, and passionate followers of Sunshine Stars Football Club, whose hearts bleed over the avoidable relegation of our once-glorious team.
“This tragedy is not a result of fate or misfortune, it is a direct consequence of the corrupt, clueless and self-serving administration spearheaded by Dele Ologun, the now-dissolved chairman of the Ondo State Football Agency (ODSFA), and his infamous cronies.
“It is deeply regrettable that men like Seun Betiku and Ramon Abdulsalam, grossly unqualified and professionally barren, were entrusted with such a prestigious institution.
“They chose profit over professionalism, deploying Sunshine Stars FC as a money-spinning contraption rather than a beacon of pride for the people of Ondo State.”
Reacting to the publication, counsel to the plaintiffs, Ariaikite Kokowei Esq., described the claims as “malicious, unfounded, and injurious,” adding that the publication portrayed his clients as corrupt, irresponsible, unqualified, and untrustworthy individuals, thereby damaging their reputation among colleagues, family members, and the general public.
“The publication has undoubtedly exposed our clients to unwarranted ridicule and unquantifiable social and economic loss, which is not only destroying their professional standing but also affecting their homes,” Kokowei said.
In their demand letter, the plaintiffs have requested a public apology to be published in The Hope, The Punch, and The Nation newspapers.
“They also demand a paid radio jingle retracting the defamatory statements to be aired on Adaba FM during prime time for one week.
Additionally, the plaintiffs are seeking a compensation of Twenty Million Naira (₦20,000,000) within seven days of receipt of the letter, as damages for the “irreparable loss of goodwill” they claim to have suffered.
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