By Abiola Olawale
Renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola, has revealed the actual reason he filed a lawsuit against popular human rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi.
Babalola, in a petition filed on November 19, 2024, and addressed to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, accused Farotimi of allegedly defaming him in a book published recently.
The senior legal luminary said the alleged defamatory contents were contained in Farotimi’s book titled: “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System”.
According to the petition, the defamatory comments involved the legal matter on 254 hectares of land located in Lagos State.
Babalola said the land in question was awarded to his client by the Supreme Court in a ruling made in 2013.
He said the comments made by Farotimi in the recently published book insinuated that both he and his law firm engaged in compromising activities with the judiciary.
He asserted that such allegations have serious implications, as they undermine the credibility and integrity of the apex court, suggesting that judicial decisions may have been influenced improperly.
The petition reads in part: “I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law firm Afe Babalola & Co. and my lawyers in the person of Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro by one Dele Farotimi in his book titled ‘NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM’ published by Dele Farotimi publishers in respect of Suit no: SC/146/2005: Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors V. H.R.H Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
“Sometime on 2/11/2024, one of our lawyers, while travelling through Murtala Muhammed Airport, bought a book by Dele Farotimi titled ‘NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM’ published by Dele Farotimi publishers. He read the said book and immediately brought it to my attention. Many of my lawyers also bought the said book and read same.
“The said defamatory statements are detailed below:
That Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgement in the service of his client” See page IX.
“That Aare Afe Babalola, Olu Daramola, Olu Faro and the law offices of Afe Babalola & Co, (Emmanuel Chambers) compromised the Supreme Court and the remaining semblance of integrity it might have had when they went back to the Supreme Court and got the Court to swim in the sewer of corruption and shameful self-Abnegation”. See page X
“That Afe Babalola libeled me and the fact of the libel became known to me in a suit against Lawal Pedro SAN”. See page X.
“That I sued Afe Babalola SAN for libel and he leveraged his influence in the Judiciary to deny me justice”. See page X.”
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after Farotimi was remanded in a detention facility of the police by a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti following his arrest on a 16-count charge of criminal defamation.
He was arrested by officers of the Ekiti police command in Lagos and transported to Ekiti for arraignment.
