''The Lion of Bourdillon'' is a 2015

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

aired by

Africa Independent Television Africa Independent Television, also known by its acronym AIT, is a privately owned television broadcaster in Nigeria. It operates Free To Air in Nigeria as the largest privately operated terrestrial television network with stations in twenty-fo ...

, a Nigerian Television Station popularly known as AIT. The film centers on the political life of Senator

Bola Tinubu Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as th ...

, the former

Lagos State Governor The governor of Lagos State is the head of government of Lagos State in Nigeria. The governor leads the executive branch of the Lagos State Government. This position places its holder in leadership of the state with command authority over the ...

and the National leader of the All Progressives Congress. It was first aired on March 1, 2015, but then stopped from further airing on March 6, 2015, following a N150 billion libel suit filled by Tinubu against AIT.

Controversies and criticisms

The airing of the documentary film on March 1, 2015, generated several controversies, leading to a N150 billion libel suit against AIT by Chief Bola Tinubu. The hour-long documentary film revealed the personal life of the former governor, showing him participating in a certain level of corruption during and after his tenure in office as governor of

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Ben ...

. It revealed properties and companies owned by the Senator across Lagos State, describing him as "Nigeria's biggest landlord". The film also revealed that he was charged for drug trafficking in 1993 by the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

. The film's release was described by critics as an attempt to tarnish Tinubu's image as a leader of a ruling party, the All Progressives Congress.

Abimbola Adelakun Abimbola Adunni Adelakun (born 15 September) is a Nigerian writer. Biography Born in Ibadan, SouthWest Nigeria, she was educated at the University of Ibadan, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree and a Master of Arts degree in communication ...

, a Nigerian writer and columnist of ''

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded On August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited was registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to engage in the business of publishing newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. It was designed to i ...

'', strongly criticized the film's release in her publications on March 5, 2015, describing the airing of the film as "libelous and defamatory", accusing the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

of being an accomplice. In the same vein, the Nigerian lawmaker

Michael Opeyemi Bamidele Michael Opeyemi Bamidele CON (born 29 July 1963) popularly known as MOB, is a Nigerian lawyer, human right activist, politician and member of the 7th National Assembly, 8th National Assembly and 9th National Assembly consecutively representing E ...

wrote an article entitled "My hatred for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu", in which he criticized the documentary film and the opposition party's role in its release.

Law suit

On March 6, 2015,

instituted a N150 billion suit against AIT on alleged

defamation of character Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

. Bola Tinubu claimed that the documentary film was politically sponsored in order to tarnish his reputation as a Nigerian politician. Justice Akinkugbe of the

High Court of Lagos State The High Court of Lagos State is the highest state court of law in Lagos State. It has several divisions, including Igbosere, Lagos Island, Ikeja, Epe, Ajah, Badagry, and Ikorodu Ikorodu is a large city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located t ...

presided over the case. On April 1, 2015, the court restrained the AIT from further airing of the controversial documentary pending the outcome of the suit. AIT, in a counter claim made through its chairman,

Raymond Dokpesi Chief Raymond Anthony Aleogho Dokpesi (born 25 October 1951) in Ibadan is a Nigerian media entrepreneur. His parents are from Agenebode, Edo state in a family including six sisters siblings. He entered the Nigerian mass media industry with hi ...

, speaking under oath, refuted the claim by the Senator, saying that the film was not designed to attack his personality or aired out of malice. He emphasized that the broadcasting station was empowered and entrusted by Section 22 of the

Constitution of Nigeria The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. History Nigeria's str ...

to hold those in government accountable and responsible to

Nigerians Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

. He further stressed that the content of the film were facts which had been in the public domain for over twenty years and were independently published prior to the airing of the documentary, and had remained unchallenged. The parties in the suit subsequently entered terms of settlement and amicably resolved the suit without proceeding to trial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion of Bourdilion, The Nigerian documentary films 2015 television films 2015 films 2015 documentary films Documentary films about African politics Documentary television films Documentary films about politicians Films about landlords