Editor’s note: Following the film aired on African Independent Television (AIT) Emeka Umeagbalasi hold an investigation of buildings worth billions of naira located within and beyond Lagos State supposedly acquired and owned illicitly by referenced former Lagos Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Naij.com.
Story highlights:
The Nigeria’s biggest landlord
Beyond the threat of lawsuit
Are these properties exist in the country and in areas they are said to be located?
Is Tinubu Mr. Clean or not?
(Elombah) – The attention of leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law has been drawn to a lawsuit threat letter (for libel) addressed to the Management of Daar Communications Limited; owners of the AIT by solicitors of one Mr. Tinubu Ahmed over the former’s recent airing of a documentary alleging that the latter illicitly acquired and owned the following choice properties:
Oriental Hotel, Falomo Shopping Complex, First Nation Airline, Private Jets, Lekki Concession Company, Apapa Amusement Park, the Renaissance Hotel, the Radio Continental, the TV Continental, the Nation Newspaper, Ikeja Shopping Mall, Alpha Beta (IGR collectors), ownership of Tejuoso Market, School of Nursing & NNPC buildings, N4B property located at the Queens Drive, Lagos and other choice properties worth billions of naira located within and beyond Lagos State allegedly acquired and owned illicitly by referenced Tinubu Ahmed.
These, according to the referenced broadcast, have earned the
referenced citizen a satirical name – “the Nigeria’s biggest landlord”.
The law chambers and offices of frontline lawyers and rights activists
in Lagos State were also said to have been quartered in some of the
referenced illicit choice properties in the State.
While the right of every Nigerian including the referenced potential
libel litigant to approach a court of law in the event of any damage or
harm to his or her name or reputation is constitutionally guaranteed; it
is our considered view that the matter under reference goes beyond
issuance of threat of lawsuit. By writing to the Management of AIT and
threatening same with multi billion naira lawsuit of libel, the
referenced Tinubu Ahmed is making Nigeria and Nigerians to believe that
he is “Mr. Clean” who goes to the equity with clean hands.
The referenced letter of his also demonstrates that he is stainless
and impeccable in character as well as incorruptible; that from the time
he was a top public office holder in Nigeria till date, he lived and
still lives within his legitimate incomes including the spent and
unspent legitimate allowances he was paid as a top public office holder.
It further demonstrates that he has never stolen or criminally
diverted public funds for private possession or ownership; and that his
present incomes and properties (if any) are in commensuration with
pieces of information contained in his asset declaration form filled and
submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau when he contested for the said
public office in 1999.
Our informed questions are: are these properties exist in the country
and in areas they are said to be located? If they exist, who acquired
and own them? How much did the referenced Tinubu Ahmed worth in 1999 as
declared and known to the Code of Conduct Bureau and how much does he
worth today? As a former top public office holder from 1999 to 2007,
what was his total salaries and allowances in accordance with relevant
provisions of the Salaries & Allowances for Top Public Office
Holders Act of the Federation of Nigeria 2002 as amended in 2008?
To instruct private solicitors to cause a letter of threat of lawsuit
of libel to be addressed to a media outfit is not enough because
sometimes court processes are used to cover social ills and intimidate
whistle blowers to unceremonious silence and submission. This explains
why we held that the reference matter goes beyond issuance of letter of
threat of lawsuit of libel. The referenced Tinubu Ahmed owes Nigerians
detailed and convincing public explanations, not just mere threat of
lawsuit or lawsuit proper.
For Nigerians to be convinced that the referenced citizen is clean,
incorruptible and impeccable and knows nothing directly or indirectly
about the grave allegations under reference, he should come clean
publicly and deny publicly too that he has nothing to do with the
properties under reference directly or indirectly. The referenced
citizen also owes Nigerians moral and legal obligations by publicly
disclosing the totality of his legitimate salaries and allowances or
those known to the law and Constitution of Nigeria from June 1999 to May
2007 when he held sway as a top public office holder.
The public disclosures being demanded will include how much he
collected as severance allowances; how much he spent of the entire
salaries and allowances in eight years as well as the remainder and
their whereabouts till date. Part of the public disclosures will be to
mention and identify company or companies and properties (if any) he
owned prior to 1999 and their locations as well as those under his name
and ownership from 2007 till date. The public disclosure of pre 1999
properties/companies (if any) should also include accrued profits and
losses till date.
It is only when the foregoing is dutifully, convincingly and publicly
disclosed by the referenced Tinubu Ahmed that Nigerians will agree
beyond further doubts that he is indeed Mr. Clean and an equity seeker
with clean hands.
Also if the foregoing is done as publicly being demanded, the
Management of AIT will bury its head in shame and lose its teeming
viewers and supporters; even though the grave allegations were first
made in 2012 by then Vice Chairman for Southwest (Segun Oni) of one of
the registered political parties in Nigeria called PDP (source: Frontier
News 2012).
But if the contrary becomes the case, then Nigerians will be left
with no other option than to assert conclusively and rightly that the
allegations do not lack in substance.
No comments:
Post a Comment