Fashola Threatens Lawsuit over alleged $600m Diversion Story

Segun Atanda/

For actions calculated to injure his reputation as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a public official, Power, Works and Housing Minister, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, has threatened to sue Mr Leno Laitan Adesanya of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, if he doesn’t apologise within 14 days.

Adesanya had accused Fashola, in a series of publications from January 11 to 16, 2019 of attempts to divert about $600 million from the 3050mw Mambilla Hydro Power Project.

A January 17, 2019 letter written by Fashola’s lawyer, Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan (SAN), and entitled ‘Re: Libel and Malicious Publication on Babatunde Raji Fashola, Esq, SAN by Leno Laitan Adesanya in several Tabloids and Online News Portals’, says Adesanya published grievous, defamatory and injurious words “on or about 11^th to 16^th January, 2019 under the caption: MABILLA POWER PROJECT – OPEN LETTER TO MR. BABATUNDE FASHOLA (SAN)”.

Fashola’s lawyer declared: “In the said publications to the whole world, you said the following, among many, about our said client or in reference to him:

*…alarming and continuous fabrication of facts.

*…because of your attempts to divert about $600 million from the 3050mw hydro-power project to a pet project not hitherto considered by the FEC.

*…why must you run to the NTA or Press if you are not guilty?

*…As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), you must stop peddling falsehood and check your facts before opening your mouth to speak.

*…The law profession is for honourable and honest individuals and being a Senior Advocate (SAN) requires more of you.

*…however, you have chosen to undermine President Buhari and the North.

*…You are misleading His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari.

*…The motivation of your insidious acts has left many puzzled.

*…Nigerians have mistaken your eloquence for honour, not realising perversion of the truth is now a recurrence pattern to your diatribe…”.

Uwensuyi-Edosomwan declared that with the publications, Adesanya described Fashola as:

*“a dishonest public office who is fraudulent, corrupt, disregarding of his oath of office and disloyal to his President and his country – Nigeria;

*a dishonourable lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a liar with a perversion for truth;

*an unworthy minister who betrays his country by deploying his tribalism negative bents in sabotaging other parts of Nigeria other than his own parts for unconscionable personal pecuniary gains;

*a sleek conman that uses his gifted eloquence to dishonourable and perverse end, and

*generally, an unpatriotic Nigerian unworthy of public office.

Uwensuyi-Edosomwan, therefore, demanded a complete retraction of the offending publications, a properly-worded unreserved apology for the libel in all the news tabloids and online portals, and pay the sum of N1 billion as pecuniary compensation “for your reckless and mindless injuries to his reputation and credit”.

The lawyer warned Adesanya that he would proceed to initiate legal steps “to bring the full consequences of your recklessness in the aforementioned publications on you” if by the end of 14 days of this letter “any of these listed demands still stands unfulfilled”.

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