Former governorship candidate in Lagos Babatunde Gbadamosi has responded to his ex-wife Sade Balogun’s claim that he relinquished his entire shareholding interests in Redbrick Homes International Ltd and Ashleads Estates Ltd following his resignation as a director in those companies since July 2021.
Mr Gbadamosi earlier said in a social media post that the various assets – Amen Estate, Amen Estate 2, Tiara, Emerald Bay, Emerald Park and Amen City – belong to him and Balogun, his wife of over two decades before they parted ways, through the aforementioned companies.
Balogun refuted his claim in a letter dated September 19 through her lawyers at Babalakin and Co.
She backed this with the publication of Gbadamosi’s resignation letter dated July 1, 2021.
“Babatunde Gbadamosi voluntarily relinquished his entire shareholding interest in Redbricks and Ashlead and resigned his directorship in these companies as far back as July 2021 under a notarised legal instrument. He has no interest whatsoever in either the above companies or any of their assets that he listed, namely Amen Estate, Amen Estate 2, TIARA, Emerald Bay, Emerald Park and Amen City.
“His directorship resignations and shareholding relinquishment have been duly filed at the Corporate Affairs Commission and are available to the public for verification. None of these assets is listed as “marital assets” that is subject of litigation between Babatunde Gbadamosi and Ms Sade Balogun,” the letter read.
Countering her claims, the politician said in an X post on Monday that the resignation letter his ex-wife was holding onto was obtained by “deception and fraudulent suppression of vital information” and so was meaningless. According to him, Balogun forged his signature to open a bank account and laundered money through it.
“A document authored by Babalakin and Co has recently come to my attention, which purports to rebut the CAVEAT EMPTOR I recently circulated regarding the dissipation of marital assets accruing to the 21 year long marriage between myself and Mrs. Folasade Balogun Gbadamosi,” he wrote.
“In 2018, unknown to me, Mrs. Folasade Balogun Gbadamosi opened a secret account for Redbrick Homes International Ltd at Keystone Bank. She FORGED my signature to open the account.
“At mediation, having discovered the existence of this illicit account, I asked her about it. Her lawyer, Bayo Adaralegbe, threatened to ‘go after’ me for signing for Sade – with her permission – when I registered the company in 2003, because she was not in Nigeria and the registration needed to be done to complete the purchase of the land at Amen Estate.
“My desire for peace and a disloyal lawyer forced me to be silent on it. I was to later discover through a police investigation, that as of June 2022, Mrs. Folasade Balogun Gbadamosi had laundered ₦2.8b of company funds through this illicit account.
“On the basis of her failure to disclose this important fact at mediation, I opted, upon legal advice, to resile the mediated agreement which had resulted in my resignation, and unknown to me, the immediate appointment of her lawyer, Bayo Adaralegbe of Babalakin and Co, to the board of the same Redbrick Homes International Ltd as a director!
“The validity of the mediation settlement used to defraud and steal the companies from me is the subject of ongoing litigation and because she knows no court, by public policy, would allow the fraudulent agreement to stand is why she wants to quickly sell off the marital assets before the court voids the agreement.
“That is why that document she’s waving about is meaningless. It was obtained by her DECEPTION and FRAUDULENT suppression of vital information from me at the mediation.”
Gbadamosi claimed Balogun has avoided responding personally to him so she would not be caught in a lie.
In 2020, Gbadamosi and Balogun escaped punishment after they were arraigned for violating Lagos State’s stay-at-home order by attending a crowded 43rd birthday party for AbdulRasheed Bello aka JJC Skillz who was still married to actress Funke Akindele at the time.
At a recent event, Funke reflected on the women who have been instrumental in her career and singled out Balogun for praise.
