By Gideon Njoku
Former Lagos State Attorney General, and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olasupo Shasore, is enmeshed in a two-million dollar fraud scandal, which is threatening to rubbish his reputation. The EFCC has labelled him dishonest and, called him a saboteur, almost.
To this effect, on July the 16th, he resigned from the membership of the Justice Reform Project, JRP.
The JRP, is a group of like-mind lawyers, devoted to building trust, and confidence of the public in the Judiciary.
It is not known if he resigned on his own, or was forced to, but the JRP, in a statement, said he voluntarily resigned over the serious allegation, but would fight to reaffirm his innocence.
Shasore served as the Attoney General, and Commissioner for Justice, under the administration of former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola.
He was Fashola’s prefered candidate to succeed him as Governor, and had started his campaign by placing advertisements in national newspapers.
But the plan crashed because Lagos State’s ultimate kingmaker, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, prefered Akinwunmi Ambode to him.
Ambode fell out with Tinubu after one term in office, and was replaced by the current Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Shasore’s problem stems from the EFCC investigation of the P & ID multi-billion Dollar Scandal with the Federal Republic of Nigeria, FGN.
He was a Counsel to the FGNigeria, but according to the EFCC report, Shasore, allegedly, got himself entangled in a two-million Dollar scandal.
Part of the EFCC report, which indicted him, and forced his resignation from JRP says:
“It has also come to light during the course of the EFCC’s investigations that: a. Mr Shasore was paid US$2 million for his involvement in the first and second stages of the arbitration.
“The average salary of a government lawyer in Nigeria is just US$5,000.
“Mr Shasore concealed his involvement in the case from his own firm, Ajumogobia & Okeke. He conducted the proceedings covertly through a separate firm, Twenty Marina, which had no background in litigation and was used to provide secretarial services.
“Mr Shasore made payments of US$100,000 each to Mrs Adelore and Mr Oguine, who were senior lawyers for the MPR and the NNPC at the time: paragraphs 44-45 above. The most likely explanation is that these payments were intended to purchase the silence of Mrs Adelore and Mr Oguine in relation to Mr Shasore’s conduct of the arbitration.
“Based on these payments, Mr Shasore was clearly dishonest and corruptible (and, as set out above, P&ID had a track record of corruption).
“Following the election of President Buhari into office, and the transfer of the conduct of the arbitration to the MoJ for the liability phase, Mr Shasore refused to meet with the Attorney General and complained that it was unacceptable and unconscionable to liaise with [the AG’s] office on the matter, as he had always liaised with the MPR since commencement of the proceedings.
“As described below, and in Schedule 2, Mr Shasore’s conduct of the first two stages of the arbitration was truly egregious. He chose not to seek any disclosure, to accept all material aspects of Mr Quinn’s witness evidence, and did not seek to cross-examine anyone at P&ID on the key issue in the case: whether P&ID could, and would have performed the GSPA.
“In light of the indicators of fraud listed above, the most likely explanation for this is that Mr Shasore had entered into a dishonest arrangement with P&ID not to challenge its evidence or seek any disclosure, with the inevitable result that FRN lost the case.
“Mr Shasore’s failure to challenge Mr Quinn’s evidence 75. A chronology of Mr Shasore’s egregious conduct in the arbitration, which the Court is invited to read in full, is appended as Schedule 2 to this skeleton argument.”
In the statement announcing his resignation, JSP said he intends to defend his reputation.
It reads: “Mr Olasupo Shasore, SAN, has today, 16th July, voluntarily, relinquished his role and function in the Justice Reform Project, in the light of serious allegations made against him in a professional capacity in recent proceedings arising from the controversial P & ID arbitration with the FGN.
“At some point, Mr Shashore, SAN, acted as Counsel to the FGN.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Shasora, SAN, insists that at all times, he acted properly, and professionally in the best interest of his client, and will exercise all options to vindicate his conduct and defend his well earned high professional reputation.
“In the interim, however, in order that these developments do not detract or distract from the important mission of the JRP, to which he remains fully committed, he has resigned and recued himself from its functions indefinitely”
