President of Dangote Group, Dr. Aliko Dangote, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to a Kaduna-based businessman, Engr. Kailani Mohammed, to retract an alleged libellous statements or face a N100bn defamation lawsuit.
In a letter dated December 20, 2025, Dangote demanded a public explanation, retraction, and unreserved apology over allegations that he engaged in “unclean business” activities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in the 1980s.
The letter, served on Mohammed by Dangote’s lawyer, Dr Ogwu James Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, of Onoja Law Firm, Abuja, accused the Kaduna businessman of making false and damaging claims that questioned Dangote’s source of wealth and integrity as Africa’s richest man.
According to the letter, the offending remarks were made by Engr. Mohammed, during an interview aired on TrustTV on Wednesday, December 17, 2025.
The comments were reportedly made in reaction to Dr. Aliko’s petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against Engr. Farouk Ahmed.
Titled “Demand for Public Explanation, Retraction and Unreserved Public Apology on Your Libellous Publication Against Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON,” the letter stated that the televised remarks were “false, reckless, malicious, scandalous and libellous.”
Dangote’s counsel described him as a globally respected businessman whose reputation was built through “hard work, integrity, diligence and perseverance,” stressing that the allegations had severely damaged his standing within the international business community.
The letter quoted Mohammed as saying during the interview: “Can Dangote tell us the source of his money in the 80s when he was in Port Harcourt? Who is clean? Every time when you want to monopolise, you bring allegations against people… In the 80s, we are aware of what happened in Port Harcourt and how he got his money.”
Dangote categorically denied ever engaging in any business or commercial activity in Port Harcourt at any time, including the 1980s, describing the claims as “entirely fictitious, unfounded and malicious.”
The legal notice warned that the statements exposed Dangote to public hatred, ridicule and suspicion, and had significantly lowered his reputation among business partners, associates and governments across countries where he operates.
Mohammed was asked to publicly explain, on the same TrustTV platform, when and how Dangote allegedly engaged in any “unclean activity” in Port Harcourt.
The notice warned that, he must retract the statements in full and issue a clear and unreserved public apology with equal prominence to the original broadcast.
Dangote also demanded N100bn in damages for reputational harm and a written undertaking from Mohammed to desist from making further defamatory statements.
The letter warned that failure to comply would result in immediate legal action, including claims for aggravated damages, and possible criminal defamation proceedings through law enforcement agencies.
“Allegations of this nature made without proof on a national media platform amount to a gross abuse of the right to freedom of expression,” the letter stated.
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