Olusegun Ariyo
Despite Intervention From Oni Ogunwusi Appealing to Afe Babalola to drop charges against activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, the human rights activist has revealed that he is still facing four separate suits in different states, all filed by members of the Aare Afe Babalola law office.
Farotimi stated this on Sunday while speaking during the Toyin Falola Interviews.
This disclosure comes after the founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, on 27 January 2025 agreed to withdraw the cases instituted against Farotimi.
Farotimi had been arrested and arraigned before two courts in Ekiti State following Afe Babalola’s petition to the police commissioner in Ekiti State, alleging that Farotimi had defamed him in a book titled Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
As a result, Farotimi stood trial for alleged criminal defamation before an Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court, Ado Ekiti District, and for alleged cyber-bullying before the Ado Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court.
Babalola announced his withdrawal of the case against Farotimi following the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other senior traditional rulers.
However, speaking during Sunday’s conversation, with the theme Politics, Law and Society, Farotimi said that while the police had withdrawn criminal charges against him following Babalola’s petition withdrawal, he still faced four civil suits across different states, all filed by members of Babalola’s law office.
“My inability to speak to certain aspects of this issue is borne out of the fact that, despite the discontinuation of the criminal proceedings, I still have four suits that I am aware of in four different states of the federation, filed by members of the same law office, against my person,” he revealed.
Farotimi also insisted that his book was not written in a moment of idle talk or baseless accusation. According to him, it is a well-researched work documenting his experiences and observations about the Nigerian judicial system.
“I did not sit down in a beer parlour; I was not at an officers’ mess; I was not gossiping. It was not idle, cheap talk. I wrote a book,” he declared. “Let us deal with veracity. Anybody can go and read it and then come back and challenge me with the lie that I have told.
