Gilbert Chagoury, a billionaire philanthropist, has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against some U.S. government agencies for leaking false information to the media.
Chagoury, in the suit filed under the Privacy Act and the Judicial Redress Act, said that the false information had caused great damage to his reputation and property.
He said that it had also denied him of his constitutional right to due process.
He named the FBI, the Department of Justice, the National Counter Terrorism Center, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection as defendants. Chagoury has been known to be an ally of former head of state Sani Abacha as they were friends before the military head died.
“All of my life, from when I was a boy in Nigeria, I have loved America because it was the land of freedom and justice,” Chagoury said.
“I started coming to the U.S. over 35 years ago and I have done everything I can to help America over my long career.
“I have close family members who are U.S. citizens. To be falsely linked to terrorism and then, have my reputation smeared in the media is an injustice that I could not allow to go unanswered.
“I have always been told that American justice demands due process; yet I was given no explanation for having my visa revoked and no opportunity to rebut these falsehoods before my reputation was dragged through the mud.
“That is not the America I know and love. I only want to clear my name,’’ Chagoury added. (NAN)