Fashola petitions Egbetokun, says he has nothing to do with Tinubu’s case in court
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Former Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola has petitioned acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to urgently investigate the “baseless” allegation of his involvement in drafting the pending judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Both Fashola and Egbetokun are loyalists of Bola Tinubu whose presidential mandate is being challenged at the PEPC by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
The petitioners want the PEPC to sack Tinubu from the Villa on several legal grounds.
Fashola was Chief of Staff to Tinubu when he was Lagos Governor and Tinubu hand-picked his former subordinate to succeed him as Lagos Governor, an office in which Fashola served two terms from 2007 to 2015.
Egbetoku was Chief Security Officer to Tinubu when he was Lagos Governor and later became Rivers Commissioner of Police during the 2023 general election. Tinubu’s victory in Rivers in the ballot is being challenged at the PEPC.
All final addresses by all parties have been presented before the PEPC which has reserved judgment.
Fashola was very upset when an online outlet reported last week that he has a hand in drafting the pending PEPC judgment to favour his benefactor.
The petition he addressed to Egbetokun on August 7 is titled, “Re: False Allegation And Cyberstalking Of Mr. Babatunde R. Fashola, SAN, CON by the trio of Jackson Ude, Yoruba Sheikh, and Reportera.Ng”
The petition, which Fashola filed through his counsel, Priory Terrace Solicitors, urged the IGP to launch, as a matter of “urgency and seriousness” an investigation into the “malicious” publication to clear his name and set the record straight.
Fashola had earlier on Monday denied the allegation and called on security agencies to take action against those responsible for spreading the fake news.
He said he had been away from Abuja for an extended period of time, underlining the fact the allegation is unfounded.
He condemned those behind the allegation, and announced he had initiated petitions against offensive tweets and online reports with X (formerly known as Twitter) and the National Communications Commission (NCC).
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Related articles:
Tinubu’s fate hangs in the balance as PEPC reserves judgment in Atiku, Obi’s petitions
Atiku criticises Economist Intelligence Unit for predicting PEPC won’t sack Tinubu
Obi tears at Tinubu’s anarchy claim as desperation to retain ‘stolen mandate’
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Grouses in the petition
“We are Solicitors to … Babatunde R. Fashola …, the immediate past … Minister of Works and Housing [Our Client), and we have his instructions to interface with you in respect of the above-captioned matter,” the petition said, per The PUNCH.
“The attention of our client has been drawn to a tweet published on Wednesday, 2 August 2023 on micro-blogging site, X [formerly known as Twitter] by one Jackson Ude tweeting under the handle of @jacksonpbn with the headline: EXPOSED: FASHOLA IS WRITING PEPT JUDGEMENT FOR JUDGES.
“It is the position of our Client that the publications by the said Jackson Ude, @yorubasheik, and @ReporteraNew are false in their entirety and have excessively breached the decent fundamentals of public enlightenment that freedom of the press is constitutionally about.
“It is our Client’s position that the totality of the three publications amount to nothing less than character assassination with a calculated view to achieving damaging effects against him in his profession as a legal practitioner who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a former Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a former Governor of Lagos State, and in his private life as a citizen of Nigeria.
“It is also our Client’s position that by the publications wherein his name and pictures were deployed, the trio of Jackson Ude, @yorubasheik, and @ReporteraNew portrayed our Client and referred to him as
- “A corrupt legal practitioner who rigs elections and compromises electoral processes;
- “A dirty politician who corrupts the Judiciary and influences the outcome of judicial proceedings; and
- “A disgrace of a lawyer who is not worthy of the office and rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, amongst other negative imputations.
“It is the position of our Client that these orchestrated allegations coming at this critical time could be part of a wider campaign to undermine the judiciary by those who seek to manipulate the judicial institution for their own gain.
“Having regard to the importance of judicial independence in general and the sensitivity of the judicial proceeding of the Presidential Election Petition Court in particular, it is the position of our Client that the publications by the said Jackson Ude, @yorubasheik, and (@ReporteraNew are false and made for the purpose of causing inconvenience, danger, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred and needless anxiety to our Client, contrary to the provisions of Section 24 of the Cybercrimes [Prohibition, Prevention, Etc], Act 2015.
“In the light of the foregoing, we hereby request your office to cause the publications to be investigated with utmost urgency and seriousness as they have implications not only for the person of our Client but for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of Nigerian judiciary which is guaranteed by Section 17 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.”