, withdrew his legal cases against Mr. Dele Farotimi, the rights activist and lawyer still faces multiple lawsuits, raising concerns among Nigerians about his legal battles.){kind=link}
Just a week after Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), withdrew his legal cases against Mr. Dele Farotimi, the rights activist and lawyer still faces multiple lawsuits, raising concerns among Nigerians about his legal battles.
Despite Babalola’s withdrawal, Farotimi remains embroiled in two significant cases.
The police had earlier arrested and charged him with 12 counts of cybercrime and 16 counts of criminal defamation based on a petition from Babalola.
However, additional legal actions continue to loom, with other lawyers seeking damages totaling over N1 billion.
On December 6, 2024, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a SAN, filed a suit against Farotimi, alleging defamation stemming from statements made in Farotimi’s book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.’
Ogunwumiju is demanding N500 million in damages and seeking an injunction from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja to stop the book’s publication and sale, both physically and online.
Ogunwumiju also called for the seizure of all copies of the book and an apology from Farotimi, to be published in two national newspapers.
Just days later, on December 11, 2024, another lawyer from Babalola’s firm, Mr. Ola Faro, filed a petition at the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt.
Faro claimed that Farotimi defamed him in the same book, alleging that specific statements in it impugned the integrity of the Supreme Court and tarnished his reputation.
Faro is seeking N500 million in damages for defamation and N100 million for the distribution of the book.
While Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other traditional rulers have intervened in the dispute between Babalola and Farotimi, the police prosecutor, Samson Osobu, moved for the withdrawal of cybercrime charges against Farotimi in the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, during a hearing last Wednesday.
However, the criminal charge filed by the police against Farotimi before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado-Ekiti is still pending, with the next hearing scheduled for February 13, 2025.
Farotimi’s arrest in Lagos on December 3, 2024, was confirmed by the Ekiti State Police Command.
DSP Abutu Sunday, the police spokesperson, said Farotimi was arrested under a warrant after several attempts to bring him in for questioning had failed.
The arrest followed a petition accusing him of defamation and cyberbullying.