By Abiola Olawale
The headache of a prominent human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi has continued to compound.
This is as the Nigerian PolicBy Abiola Olawalee Force (NPF) has filed fresh charges against Farotimi, who is a detention facility, a move that has heightened fresh anxieties.
The Police slammed a fresh 12-count charge against Farotimi on Friday, December 6, 2024, before a Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti.
The New Diplomat reports that the fresh charges came after the lawyer was arraigned on a 16-count charge on Wednesday before a Magistrate court in Ekiti State.
In the fresh charge, the Police accused Farotimi of allegedly making defamatory statements on Seun Okinbaloye’s podcast, based on content in his book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’.
He was also accused of allegedly intimidating and maligning a renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and founder of Afe Babalola University on the podcast, Chief Afe Babalola.
The lawyer was also charged for publicizing details of legal actions taken against him during a press conference on December 2, 2024, before his arrest on December 3, 2024.
It would be recalled that this comes after Farotimi was remanded in the detention facility of the police by a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti following his arrest on a 16-count charge of criminal defamation.
Recall that he was arrested by officers of the Ekiti police command in Lagos and transported to Ekiti for arraignment.
