A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, granted bail to activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi on Friday – 16 days after detaining him over charges of criminal defamation of Afe Babalola.
The trial chief magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, granted Mr Farotimi bail in the sum of N30 million.
He also ordered the defendant to “submit his passport to the court registrar” and barred him from “granting media interviews” pending the conclusion of the matter.
There was heightened security presence within and around the premises of the court on Friday morning as the Nigerian police deployed heavily armed Rapid Response Squad (RSS) operatives ahead of the anticipated ruling.
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Many human rights activists and advocacy groups staged a protest at the court in solidarity with Mr Farotimi, demanding his “unconditional release.”
The police arraigned Mr Farotimi at the court on 4 December on 16 charges of defaming Mr Babalola in his book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.
The book, which a court has now ordered to be removed from circulation, accused Mr Babalola, a senior Nigerian lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), of corrupting the Nigerian Supreme Court in serving his clients.
Mr Babalola cited 31 alleged defamatory excerpts from the104-page book in his petition to the police, which, he said, was written to ruin his hard-earned reputation.
Mr Farotimi denied all the charges during his arraignment.
Bail hearing
After Mr Farotimi entered his not guilty plea, the chief magistrate ordered his detention in the correctional centre in Ado Ekiti and postponed the hearing of his bail application till 10 December.
On 10 December, the magistrate heard the bail application, which the police opposed, and adjourned until 20 December (today) for ruling.
Earlier during the hearing, Mr Adeosun disallowed Mr Farotimi’s first-choice lawyer, Yinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), from addressing the court on the grounds that lawyers of his status were not permitted to appear before a magistrate’s court.
A lawyer, Taiwo Adedeji, continued the case on behalf of the defendant.
The court adjourned till 20 December to rule on the bail application of the defendant and ordered the remand of Mr Farotimi in prison custody.
After his ruling granting bail to Mr Farotimi, the court adjourned further proceedings till 13 February 2025.
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Farotimi’s legal challenges
The case is just one in the series of legal challenges Mr Farotimi has faced since Mr Babalola’s petition calling on the police to take action against him for defaming him in his book. The book quickly clinched a bestseller spot on Amazon days after the police arrested him over the publication.
Days after charging him before at chief magistrate’s court, the police also arraigned him before the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti on cybercrime charges stemming from Mr Babalola’s allegations regarding the book. The judge, Babs Kuewunmi, granted him N50 million bail and remanded him in prison till he met the bail conditions.
The federal court granted him bail but remained in detention to await Friday’s ruling by the chief magistrate’s court.
In addition to the criminal cases, two lawyers from Mr Babalola’s law firm, Afe Babalola & Co. have also filed separate libel suits against Mr Farotimi at the Rivers State High Court and the FCT High Court in Abuja.
The FCT High Court has ordered the seizure of physical copies of the book wherever it might be found.
Mr Babalola’s law firm also petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to disbar Mr Farotimi, over his controversial book, allegedly denigrating the Supreme Court and accomplished lawyers.
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