Renowned legal luminary, Afe Babalola (SAN), has explained his decision to pursue legal action against Dele Farotimi, a human rights advocate, over alleged defamation and cyberbullying. Babalola said the move aims to address “the falsity of his allegations” and hold him accountable for his actions.
Farotimi was arrested on Tuesday by operatives from the Ekiti State Police Command in Lagos, following a petition alleging defamation in his book titled Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System. He was subsequently arraigned before the Ekiti State Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday on a 16-count charge and has since been remanded. Farotimi pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The arrest has sparked widespread reactions, with notable figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, calling for his release. Farotimi alleged that the Ekiti police employed questionable methods to lure him for arrest despite honoring previous invitations from the Lagos Zone 2 Police Headquarters.
In a statement issued by Afe Babalola & Co. on Friday, the senior advocate dismissed calls to drop the case, asserting that addressing the allegations was critical to protecting his reputation.
“No amount of street yelling and media tactics would stop the prosecution of Farotimi,” the statement, signed by Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN), read. “If we do not take action to correct these false, reckless, and malicious statements, our silence will necessarily be interpreted as an admission of guilt.”
The firm described the accusations in Farotimi’s book as a deliberate attack on the integrity built by Afe Babalola over decades of legal practice.
“The constitution recognises fundamental human rights, but these rights are not absolute. The freedom to speak is not freedom from the consequences of speech,” the statement added. “The subject of speech also has a fundamental right to hold the speaker accountable using lawful means.”
While reiterating confidence in the justice system, Babalola’s firm emphasized that it would not engage in media debates on the case’s merits as the matter is sub judice.
“In six decades of litigating cases across Nigeria, we have encountered several lawyers who prevailed against us in court. Their existence disproves Mr. Farotimi’s wild accusations and indicates that at the end of this process, only the law will matter—not the media tactic or street yelling,” the statement concluded.
