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Sports Minister Denies Bash Ali’s Bribery Accusations
Senator John Owan Enoh, Minister of Sports Development, has vehemently denied bribery allegations made by former world boxing champion Bash Ali.
In a letter titled “BASH ALLI AND HIS SERIAL BLACKMAIL MUST BE CONFRONTED AND DEFEATED,” addressed to the press, Enoh rebuffed Ali’s sudden and unfounded criticism, stating that it undermines core values such as decency, honesty, and integrity.
This response comes after Ali’s claims gained attention through a trending video and an open petition to the President.
Ali alleged that Senator Enoh demanded an additional one million dollars to endorse his proposal for hosting what he referred to as the oldest boxers’ fight in Nigeria.
The statement reads “I am constrained to address you today to speak to the trending video and open petition to the President wherein Bash Alli, a former World Boxing Champion threw caution and decency to the wind to allege that I demanded the sum of ‘another ‘1 USD( One million dollars) from him inorder to endorse his plan to stage what he calls the oldest boxers fight in Nigeria.
“When Bash Alli released his video and open letter to the President,with the sole aim to defame and destroy my reputation and integrity, some friends and associates advised that I totally ignore him and his blackmail gambit. They believe that by responding to Bash Alli and his vile campaign of calumy, I will validate and bring him to the limelight.
“After a deep reflection, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that to ignore him will be a profound mistake. My reason for this is twofold. First, the perception in the public domain is that those in the public service are either thieves or kleptomaniacs who mindlessly pillage our Commonwealth.
“This assumption, no matter how widely held, is not true. Despite our challenges as a nation, there are men and women who continue to serve our country with honesty, integrity, and patriotism. I AM ONE OF SUCH. Secondly, ignoring Bash Alli and his tradition of deploying blackmail and gutter tactics now,will further embolden and enable him to continue in his usual trajectory even after I have served out my mandate as minister of Sports, without consequences.
“Gentlemen of the press, you are aware that before I was appointed to the office of Minister of Sports Development, Bash Alli had sought to mindlessly impugn the character and reputation of some of my predecessors in office, without any shred of evidence.
“In my own case, he has exhumed and redeployed this hydra headed monster and gone overboard because past Ministers perhaps treated him and his wild allegations with kid gloves. To simply walk away from this baloney, for me, is not an option. “Bash Alli’s allegation that I demanded for “another 1 million dollars”as if I had received a first tranche of one million dollars from him,or perhaps any of my predecessors had done so,is a manufactured lie from the pit of hell.
“At no point in time did I demand for any form of gratification from Bash Alli. The questions to ask are these: One million dollars from where? If Bash Alli had one million dollars, why has he not staged his fight? His spurious allegation suffers from fatal deformity and is based on the erroneous impression that government in Nigeria is a cash cow at the mercy of public servants to pillage at will.
“Let me be clear. Bash Alli desperately wanted to meet me in my very early days as Minister of Sports Development when I had hardly settled down on the job. In the deluge of his desperate attempts, I decided to meet him against the advice of the staff of the Ministry who were familiar with his character and antics. Against their advice,I decided to meet him out of respect for his age and based on the open door policy with which I am currently leading the Ministry.
“Conscious of the advice of some key staff of the Ministry,I sought to insulate myself and the office from any blackmail that may emanate from this meeting by making sure that my team was present at the meeting. He presented the issue of his pet project, and I told him to be patient while i get more briefing from the Ministry.
“All my life, the said meeting is the first and only time I ever met Bash Alli. There were no follow-ups after that one-off meeting, and I did not introduce any of my aides to him. After the said meeting, I politely refused to meet with him to this day in spite of his numerous requests and pressures.
“His incessant messages to me will speak to his desperation. “Gentlemen of the press, as you know, Bash Alli’s plan to stage his boxing fight in Nigeria has a long history spanning almost two decades. To achieve this personal aspiration, he has deployed all manner of strategies including naked blackmail and under hand tactics in his desperate effort to arm twist the Federal Government to spend upwards of $50m USD to stage his fight.
“Successive Ministers of Sports have rightly told him that his plan to stage this fight is not the responsibility of the government but a business that should be executed by the private sector.
“In concluding this statement, gentlemen of the press, I sincerely believe that, in spite of our numerous challenges, our country still has a soul. Our humanity will be irretrievably destroyed the day we lose our soul. Bash Alli’s desperate and unprovoked withering attack on me is an attack on decency, honesty, and integrity.
“The move to clear my name has just started, and there will be no let up until I achieve this sacred mission. In addition to other remedies under the ambit of the law, I have instructed my lawyer to write Bash Alli demanding an immediate public retraction of his allegations and to render a public apology.
“He will have just one week to do this; the failure to do this on his part will leave me with no option than to approach the courts to both clear my name and seek damages.” he added
Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Sunday Dare, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his manner of addressing the President, describing it as “the height of insolence.”
In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Dare accused Atiku of political hubris for addressing the President simply as “Bola” while allegedly attempting to dictate how the government should be run.
“To seek to lecture a sitting president with the unbridled insolence of dropping his first name, petulantly barking instructions, and dictating how governance should be run within a truncated timeline is the height of political hubris,” Dare said.
ALSO READ: Sunday Dare Highlights Tinubu’s Key Achievements, Fires Back at Steve Osuji
He also dismissed Atiku’s comments on fiscal management, arguing that Nigerians do not need lectures from the former vice president on how to manage the economy.
Dare described Atiku as a “political wanderer” whose decades-long pursuit of the presidency, according to him, has been defined by “perpetual opportunism.”
He defended the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, saying the President was undertaking what he described as the “heavy, foundational lifting” required to restructure an economy affected by decades of structural challenges and subsidy costs.
“Atiku’s sudden conversion to the gospel of interventionism rings hollow,” Dare said, describing it as a strategy by what he called a “perennial seeker of power” to exploit national difficulties for electoral mileage.
Dare also accused Atiku of weaponising economic challenges for political purposes, while defending the Tinubu administration’s approach to economic reforms.
Biztellers reports that Dare was also reacting to a recent International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration ruling on the dispute involving Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and the Federal Government.
Recall that an ICC arbitration tribunal sitting in Paris on Thursday, September 17, 2026, issued a ruling rejecting Sunrise Power’s claims against the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
Speaking via a post on X on Friday, Dare said: “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s recent theatrical press conference, characterised by haughty condescension and an unbecoming disregard for the high office of the President of Nigeria, is nothing short of self-deprecation.”
Dare accused Atiku of attempting to distract Nigerians from questions surrounding the Mambilla project and his past, while criticising what he described as the former vice president’s renewed interventionist position on economic matters.
He further questioned Atiku’s criticism of the Tinubu administration, arguing that the former vice president should first address lingering questions surrounding his past before attempting to lecture the government on governance and economic management.
The comments come amid renewed exchanges between Atiku and the Tinubu administration as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections continue to intensify.
The Federal Government has constituted a 10-member independent committee to investigate the reported deaths of 37 people held in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Niger State Command, over alleged illegal mining.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced the development in a statement on Saturday, saying the action followed a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the incident.
Recall that the deaths occurred on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
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The Minister also ordered the suspension of all officers involved in the incident pending the conclusion of the independent committee’s investigation.
Tunji-Ojo described the deaths as “deeply disturbing”, stressing that the government owes the families of the deceased and the Nigerian public a transparent account of the events that led to the incident.
According to the statement, the committee will establish the identities of the deceased and investigate their arrests, detention, as well as the cause and circumstances surrounding their deaths.
It will also determine responsibility, complicity, negligence and misconduct and recommend appropriate action, including compensation where applicable, as well as measures to prevent a recurrence.
The Minister directed the NSCDC leadership and all relevant officers to cooperate fully with the committee.
He further ordered that all records and material evidence connected to the incident be preserved and made available to investigators.
“Any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation will be treated as a serious offence,” the Minister warned.
Members of the investigative committee
The 10-member committee is chaired by Mr Jonathan Kure, mni, a retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services, while Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, former Director-General of the Nigeria Law School, will serve as Secretary.
Other members are:
AIG Hosea Hassan Karma (retired)
Prof. Olayinka Buhari, Professor of Histopathology and former Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital
Representative of the Minna Emirate Council
Representative of the Niger State Government.
Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary, Miners Association of Nigeria
Mr Deji Adeyanju, lawyer and human rights activist
Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspaper
Dr George Agbakahi, Public Affairs Analyst
The committee may co-opt relevant experts, access all necessary facilities and documents, visit relevant locations and request memoranda from members of the public.
It has two weeks to complete its work and submit its report to the Minister.
20 NSCDC officers suspended
The Federal Government also released the names of 20 officers suspended in addition to the Niger State Commandant of the Corps.
The suspended officers are:
O/C Station Guard, SC Usman Isah Ndamaka
Station Guard, ASCI Hassan Mohammed
Station Guard, CCA Bala Mohammed
Arresting Officer/O/C Investigation, CSC Oluwadare Sunday
Arresting Officer, DCC Obafemi Elvis
Arresting Officer, CSC Annas Shitto Lamino
HOD INT/INV, DCC Philip Ajayi
O/C Legal, ACC Barr. Stephen Tsado
Day/Night Duty Officer, ASCI Alhassan Mohammed
Guard Duty, IC Abdullahi Sale
Guard Duty, IC Mohammed Sonfada
Guard Duty, CAI Liman Abubakar
Guard Duty, CAI Bala Usman
Guard Duty, IC Mohammed Jiya
Guard Duty, DSC Isah Suleiman
Guard Duty, CAI Ahmed Wushishi
Guard Duty, IC Sale Adamu
Guard Duty, IC Haruna Mohammed
Guard Duty, ASCI Aliyu Sallah
Guard Duty, CAI Isah Sanusi
The Minister extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and appealed for calm while the investigation continues.
Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is set to address a world press conference at his residence in Abuja on Friday.
The specific reason for the media briefing has not been disclosed as of the time of filing this report.
SEE ALSO: Mambilla: ICC Orders Sunrise Power to Pay Nigeria $11.8m After 9-Year Battle
Atiku’s planned engagement comes amid several developments attracting public attention, including a recent report from TheCable concerning a $500,000 payment allegedly transferred in 2003 to his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
TheCable reported that Adesanya told an international arbitration tribunal that the payment was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku.
The report further stated that the payment was made through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company controlled by Adesanya.
The development comes shortly after an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal ruled in favour of Nigeria in the $2.35 billion arbitration dispute brought by Sunrise Power over the Mambilla hydropower project.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter to reimburse Nigeria for a portion of its legal fees and expenses.
However, there is currently no official indication that Atiku’s scheduled press conference is connected to the Sunrise Power report, the arbitration ruling or any other specific issue.
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