Ekiti pastor claims defamation against chef Dammy, demands N20m

A cleric based in Ekiti State, Prophet Adegoke Jeremiah, aka Billion Dollars Prophet, has demanded N20m from Damilola Adeparusi, better known as Chef Dammy, for defamation of character.

Chef Dammy had called Jeremiah out via her Instagram page over claims of harassment.

She claimed Jeremiah had continued to threaten and bully her for months following her cook-a-thon in June 2023.

In the letter dated October 23, 2023, Jeremiah, via his lawyers, Busayo Sule & Co. Legal Practitioners, demanded a retraction of the ‘libelous’ statement made by Chef Dammy on social media and payment of N20m damages.

The letter partly read, “In view of the incalculable damage you have done to the good reputation of our client, we demand a retraction of the libellous statement on all the social media, particularly your Instagram page, and two (2) widely read national dailies.

“Additionally, we are demanding a sum of (Twenty Million Naira Only) N20,000,000:00 being damages for the act of defamation against our client.

“Take notice that you have seven (7) days from the date of service of this letter on you, the date of service inclusive, to comply with our demand. Failure of which we shall not hesitate to seek a redress in the court of law.”

Our correspondent spoke with a representative of Busayo Sule & Co. Legal Practitioners, Ezekiel Oluwabusayo, who confirmed the authenticity of the document circulating online.

However, he added that the document was never meant to be released on social media.

Oluwabusayo stated, ‘It was supposed to be a private document. Who released it online? I also spoke to her (Chef Dammy), asking how the letter surfaced online.

“We served her the letter on the premise that she should retract the libelous statement she made on her Instagram page last week, that’s all.

“We wrote a letter to her, but it’s not meant for public consumption. We asked her to retract the statement she made within seven days. We are yet to commence the lawsuit against her. We may start the case after seven or fourteen days.

“Yes, the letter was from our chambers, but it was not meant for public consumption.”

PUNCH