The Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Wednesday, struck out cybercrimes charges filed by the police against lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, at the instance of senior lawyer Afe Babalola.
The Nigerian police filed the cybercrime charges after receiving Mr Babalola’s petition accusing Mr Farotimi of defaming him llast year. The police also filed a separate criminal defamation case, similarly prompted by Mr Babalola’s petition, at a chief magistrate’s court in Ado-Ekiti.
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On Sunday, Mr Babalola, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), announced his decision to have the cases against Mr Farotimi withdrawn.
The nonagenarian said he succumbed to the pleas to end the cases following the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and some other traditional rulers pleading with him to forgive Mr Farotimi.
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Mr Farotimi, 57, was not present at the meeting held at ABUAD, on Sunday, where Mr Babalola granted him unconditional forgiveness.
Police prosecutor Samson Osobu applied for the withdrawal of the cybercrime charges at the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday.
Mr Osobu told the court that the prosecution filed a notice of discontinuance following the desire of Mr Babalola, the nominal complainant, to withdraw the case.
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“The matter is slated for hearing today, but we have filed a notice of discontinuance dated 29 January 2025, and filed this morning,” he said.
Mr Farotimi’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not object to the application.
Based on the application, the judge, Babs Kuewumi, struck out the charges.
“This case is hereby struck out,” Mr Kuewumi ruled.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Mr Olumide-Fusika affirmed that the cybercrime case had ended, but declined to comment on related matters pending in other courts.
He also said that he had advised his client against granting press interviews on the matter.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Faroitimi said he had no comment on Mr Babalola’s reported forgiveness when contacted on Tuesday by our reported.
Pending legal matters
Meanwhile, there is another criminal charge filed by the police against Mr Farotimi which is still pending before a chief magistrate’s court in Ado-Ekiti.
That case, which before chief magistrate Abayomi Adeosun, was scheduled for 13 February.
It is expected that the police will also move to discontinue proceedings in that court and withdraw the charge.
In addition to the criminal cases, two lawyers from Mr Babalola’s firm, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Ola Faro, had also sued Mr Farotimi for N500 million and N600 million, respectively
The FCT High Court also ordered the seizure of physical copies of the book wherever it might be found.
It is not yet clear if these cases will also be discontinued.
Silence
However, ever since the news of Mr Babalola’s forgiveness came to the fore on Monday, Mr Farotimi, usually outspoken, has kept mute and has not spoken about it on his social media handles or YouTube page, where he provided updates about the case with Mr Babalola in the past
His first Facebook post since the development was a cryptic message shared on Tuesday, offering no clear indication of the possible real-life situation he was referring to.
“The good hunting dog is never distracted by the rustling of squirrels in the underbrush..🇳🇬😊,” the post read.
PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Farotimi via a Whatsapp message on Tuesday and his response confirmed that he had been deliberately silent on the report of the forgiveness granted him by Mr Babalola.
“I have no comment on the news,” Mr Farotimi said, in a response to our reporter’s request for comments.
Back story
Mr Farotimi was charged after Mr Babalola, a nonagenarian, petitioned the police, accusing Mr Farotimi of defaming him in his book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.’
Mr Babalola cited in his petition 31 excerpts from the book, which he alleged defamed him.
In the Amazon best-seller book, Mr Farotimi accuses Mr Babalola, the founder of the Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, of corrupting Nigeria’s Supreme Court in service of his clients.
Subsequently, the police arrested and charged him with 16 counts of criminal defamation, leading to his arraignment before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado Ekiti. In addition, he faced 12 cybercrime offences at the Federal High Court in Ade- Ekiti.
Mr Farotimi, who pleaded not guilty to all charges in both courts, was remanded in prison in Ado-Ekiti following his arraignment.
However, in a volte face on Sunday, Mr Babalola announced his decision to give up pursuing the cases after listening to a delegation of traditional rulers led by Ooni of Ife appealing to him to forgive Mr Farotimi.
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