Adoke Sues Melaye for Libel, Demands N10.2bn

Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), has slammed a N10.2 billion libel suit on the Executive Secretary of Anti-corruption Network, Mr. Dino Melaye, at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In the suit, Adoke accused Melaye of damaging his reputation in a publication of April 12 where he accused him of corrupt practices, obstruction of justice for corrupt elements and abuse of power as minister of justice.

Besides the N10.2 billion Adoke is seeking from Melaye for defamation, he has also asked for N200 million as the cost of litigation.

The minister, who has assembled an 11-man team for the legal battle, asked the court  for “an order of perpetual injunction restraining Melaye and other defendants from further inferring in any manner whatsoever with his reputation.”

Members of his legal team include Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN); Donald Denigwe (SAN); Babajide Koku (SAN); and Ahmed Raji (SAN).

Melaye had raised seven allegations bordering on abuse of office against Adoke, including the controversial cases on the N150 billion recovered fromformer Oceanic Bank Managing Director, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, the $180 million Halliburton scandal and the return of the Vaswani brothers to Nigeria after an alleged N2.5 billion tax evasion.

He also alleged that the  AGF raised a memo on the case of the Vaswani brothers who were deported for a second time in April 2009 for an alleged N2.5 billion tax evasion that they should be allowed to return to Nigeria.

Melaye  further accused the minister of dereliction of duty by not re-filing the dismissal by Justice Archibong of the Federal High Court of the N10 billion money laundering charge preferred against a former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola,  on the grounds of shoddy prosecution.

But the minister in  his statement of claim, averred that the defendants deliberately and intentionally authorised the publication of the report knowing that it was meant to tarnish his reputation in the estimation of all right thinking persons of the country.