Bash Ali vs Sports Minister: Boxing Champ Ready For Showdown, As Sunday Dare Heads To Court

For the  umpteenth time, African Boxing Ambassador, Nigerian Bashiru Lawrence Ali, OON, has again written to the Minister of Youth and  Sports, Chief Sunday Dare complaining about what he described as deliberate delay in providing enabling environment for the actualisation and organisation of the proposed Guinness World Record Boxing Championships in Nigeria.

The Nigerian boxer, fondly called Bash Ali, dated the letter 19 April, 2021 with the titled Guinness World Record Boxing Championship versus Impunity, Corruption and Bad Administration in Nigeria, The Sabotage of Nigeria’s Economy, and copied President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief of Staff to the President, Attorney General of the Federation, Department of State Security, Acting Inspector General of Police, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Daniel Amokachi, Special Adviser on Sports to President Buhari, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information.

The boxer berated the Minister for not heeding the instructions handed to him by President Buhari that he should mobilise necessary machinery of the Nigerian government for the staging of the world boxing title fight in the country at the earliest possible time.

P.M. EXPRESS can report that the situation has taken a new turn on Friday with the Sports Minister through his Media Office, saying  that he would sue the boxing champion, demanding for a whopping N5 billion, for what he described as libelous and malicious accusation of wrongdoing.

In the letter Bash Ali wrote to Minister Dare, the champion said: “It is instructive to inform you that the first Project President Buhari approved in office is the above Project vide memo SH/COS/22/A/627 dated July 21, 2015 (less than two months in office) and memo NSC/GRSD/BABP/CON/72 dated August 12, 2015. “On October 15, 2019, President Buhari personally directed you to meet with me. You called me severally asking for a private meeting with me which I respectfully turned down by requesting for a public meeting. Finally, we had a public meeting on November 4, 2019 in the presence of all your Heads of Departments including former great runner and ex-Olympian, Mary Onyali. You praised me to high heaven etc. You informed the House that President Buhari has directed you to meet with me to discuss how to successfully host the historic fight and that it is no longer Bash Ali’s Fight but Nigeria’s and that every arm of the Federal Government will be involved in the successful hosting of the Historic Fight.”

The former wrestler turned pugilist lamented that despite several attempts previous and incumbent Nigerian governments made to do concrete things on the fight, by setting up Local Organsing Committee (LOC), official bottleneck, bureaucracy, corruption and bad administration have always been the stumbling blocks from letting the championships see the light of the day. 

“Sir, while the American boxers who are not as qualified and as intelligent as me are celebrated like ‘Gods’ in America, here in Nigeria, a Hero like me is relegated to the back burner while criminals are celebrated because of corruption and bad administration . What a country!! What a shame!!!

“Bash Ali recalled in the letter how some prominent Nigerians such as the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam El Rufai, Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami had intervened, pleading with the Sports Minister to initiate process of staging the fight in Nigeria, Ali said that Sunday Dare failed to listen to do the right thing. 

“Nigeria is a great country with too much potential and many Nigerians have great dreams but corrupt and bad administration kill the dreams of great Nigerians and those who can’t stand the heat like my brother, Champion Anthony Joshua, move abroad to realize their goals while those who are stuck in Nigeria, die with their dreams.”

While concluding his letter, Bash Ali wants the Minister to do the followings within 14 days of receiving his letter or face what he called a ‘Black Sunday’ in Nigeria.

The demands include that the Minister returns the N13 million allegedly extorted from him from the N28 million court settlement. The Minister should call a Press Conference to tell the world that the FG is fully involved in this historic fight and apologize for calling him a fraud and take out paid advert to apologize in four prominent local and international newspapers and four prominent local and international television stations.

As directed by President Buhari and as promised on November 4, 2019, the Minister should call for a meeting with the members of the LOC and tender his resignation as a Minister.

Meanwhile, Minister Dare is not taking it lightly the content of the letter written by the Boxing Ambassador, alleging that Bash Ali has damaged his characters.

In a press release made public by the Media Office on Friday and titled Libel: Minister to sue Bash Ali for N5 Billion, the Sports Minister informed Nigerians that his legal team has perfected a N5 billion libel suit against former boxer, Bash Ali, after he maliciously accused him of wrongdoing.  

“The Minister, through his lawyers, Festus Keyamo Chambers, will seek injunctive and pecuniary damages against Bash Ali and will not hesitate to join any person, medium or organization that publishes any of the defamatory contents authored by Bash Ali, his agents or proxies as a co-defendant to the suit.

“The statement says “Bash Ali had launched a campaign of calumny against the Minister after the Ministry declined to sign on to a supposed Guinness World Record Boxing Championship Bout he was promoting. The Ministry had advised the former boxer to approach the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C) for support as that was the body with the requisite jurisdiction to support his ambition.  

“This is particularly as the Ministry only deals with amateur boxers and not professional boxers like him, who has never had an amateur fight. Additionally, the bout being proposed by Bash was a purely business affair which Bash could conveniently champion as a private venture without the support of the Ministry.

 “The libel suit against Bash Ali would have been filed this week, within days of the ex-boxer releasing a ten-page letter that cast aspersion on the person and character of Mr. Dare, but the ongoing strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, which has shut the courts.

“Mr. Dare’s legal team is however set to serve a Pre-Action letter to Bash Ali informing him of Mr. Dare’s intention to sue him for libel and demanding that Bash withdraws the falsehood he is peddling against the Minister and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. 

“The said Pre-Action letter further requests Bash to stop the spreading of false, defamatory and blackmail materials against Mr. Dare through media channels or any other means and tender an apology to Mr. Dare for the reputational damage occasioned by the invidious publication.”