By Passman Akpos
Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over what he described as defamatory social media posts.
Recall that the post claimed last week that Foshola was drafting a favourable judgment to be handed over to judges of Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT.
Fashola, who was also former governor of Lagos State, described the allegation as “baseless and defamatory”, saying those responsible for the posts were “agents of destabilisation”.
In the petition addressed to the IGP, written by his counsel,Olanrewaju Akinsola, Fashola said the allegation was peddled by Ude, Yoruba Sheikh, and Reportera.NG, using the microblogging platform, Twitter.
He said the claim had “excessively breached the decent fundamentals of public enlightenment”, adding that the allegation amounted to character assassination.
The petition read: “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.
“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.
“The allegations are 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 the Nigerian judiciary which is guaranteed by Section 17 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.”
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