The Lagos State Government has been dragged to the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, to provide clarity on a claim made by business magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Specifically, the court is tasked with compelling the state government to disclose whether Dangote’s assertion that he paid $100 million to the government is factual or erroneous.
Should the claim be verified, the Applicants – De Renaissance Patriots Foundation and Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum – want the Lagos State Government to provide a comprehensive and detailed account of the transaction, addressing critical questions such as why there was no public statement issued regarding this significant financial transaction.
The lawsuit seeks to uncover the truth surrounding Dangote’s claim and ensure transparency and accountability in the handling of public funds.
The court’s ruling is anticipated to shed light on the circumstances surrounding this substantial payment and its potential impact on the lives of the Ibeju-Lekki community.
This was contained in an originating motion, brought under Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended; Sections 1,3, 4, 7, 20 and 24 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 and Inherent jurisdiction of the Honourable Court in the matter.
The application was filed by De Renaissance Patriots Foundation and Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, joining Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos State Governor), Attorney General of Lagos State, Accountant General of Lagos State, Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau, Lagos State and Lagos State Government, as the 1st to 5th Respondents.
The motion, filed and registered by the court with Suit no FHC/L/CS/1603/2024 at 1:20pm on Friday September 6, 2024, is asking the court for an Order of Mandamus to be issued against the respondents to compel the Lagos State Government to release the information required by the applicants.
Speaking immediately after filing the motion on Friday, lead counsel for the applicants, Barrister Yakubu Eleto Esq, said the livelihoods of the people of Ibeju-Lekki were destroyed by the siting of the Dangote Refinery in their area.
He, however, added that no affected resident or host community was compensated.
He said, “Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), as sitting governor in 2015, using a public address said that they brought Dangote to Ibeju-Lekki in good faith to assist governance, to assist the Lagos State economy, that they gave him the land for free and that he didn’t pay anything for it.”
He said that was what the Lagos State government at the time used to cajole the people until recently, nine years later when Dangote cried out saying he paid $100 million for the land he built his refinery on.
Eleto said the people of the area have suffered neglect for the past nine years, only for them to recently hear from Dangote that he paid $100 million for the same land they were not compensated for.
He said, “Out of the fact that they don’t have money, they pay a lot to give themselves energy and it is now sounded to their ears to hear that about $100 million was collected in exchange for their land and some individuals sit on that money. We want to know where that money is.”
The case, according to Eleto, was yet to be assigned to a judge being that it was filed on Friday (September 6, 2024). Meanwhile, cases in the Federal High Court are assigned on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“By Tuesday, September 10, it is going to be assigned to a judge,” he said.(SaharaReporters)
