The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded an apology from Femi Fani-Kayode, one of the spokespersons for the Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a series of tweets, Fani-Kayode had alleged that Atiku was secretly meeting with some military officers to plan a coup d’état.

The Defence Headquarters subsequently denied the allegation, pledging its commitment to democracy.

But the secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) subsequently invited the former aviation minister for questioning.

Fani-Kayode, after being interrogated for about six hours on Monday, admitted that he was wrong by failing to clarify things with relevant authorities before making the controversial statement.

He added that he could have been more circumspect and handled things differently.

He stated that he should have verified the source of the news that reported the alleged clandestine meeting between Atiku and the military. He described the medium that reported the alleged meeting as faceless.

In a statement by his Special Assistant, Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku, who earlier asked the secret police to invite Fani-Kayode, demanded an unreserved apology from him.

The statement read, “To ensure that he is truly remorseful of his self-confessed lie that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, met with army generals with the aim of executing a coup against the democratically elected government of President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Fani-Kayode, the Director of Special Projects and New media of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, has been asked to tender an unreserved public apology to the former Vice President of Nigeria.

“The Department of State Services had on Monday grilled Fani-Kayode for six hours following a series of tweets wherein he irresponsibly claimed that Atiku had met with some army generals in a bid to perpetrate a coup.

“After his release, Fani-Kayode stated at a press conference that he regretted making the comments and he would guard his statements in the future.”

Shaibu, however, said Fani-Kayode’s “regret” was not enough without a public apology issued to Atiku and the military.

He added, “Fani-Kayode’s regret is a step in the right direction, but this is not sufficient. Who exactly is he apologising to? He needs to be specific. He needs to apologise to Waziri Atiku Abubakar for trying to impugn his character. He also needs to apologise to the military for denigrating that revered institution.

“Fani-Kayode is a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with over two million followers across social media platforms. He is a lawyer and ought to understand the implication of libel. Apart from the criminal aspect of his tweets, he has also committed defamation and thus must be made to apologise for his inane insinuations.”