Dele Farotimi leaves prison after 20 days of detention

Nigerian lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi has been released from the correctional facility in Ekiti State after meeting the bail conditions granted him in a case where he faces criminal charges of defaming senior lawyer Afe Babalola in his book.

Mr Farotimi’s widely circulated book, Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System, accuses Mr Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of the Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, of corrupting the Nigeria’s Supreme Court in the service of his clients.

The author also faces cybercrime charges at the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti regarding the book.

Both cases followed Mr Babalola’s petition to the police in Ekiti State, citing 31 excerpts from the book, which he alleged defamed him.

The Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti, where he is being prosecuted on cybercrime charges, granted him N50 million bail on 9 December.

But he remained in detention until after the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado Ekiti, where he is being prosecuted on criminal defamation charges, granted him bail on Friday.

Mr Farotimi’s ally, Omoyele Sowore, who is the publisher of SaharaReporters, announced his release from detention in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“I am pleased to report that Dele Farotimi is no longer being held at the prison yards in Ekiti state and is now returning home to Lagos. The struggle continues!” he wrote.

Lawyers who are involved in the case also confirmed the development to our reporter.

Mr Farotimi’s legal challenges began after Mr Babalola, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, petitioned the police in Ekiti State in November, accusing him of criminal defamation.

Earlier in December, the police arrested him in Lagos, from where they drove him to Ado Ekiti.

The book quickly clinched a bestseller spot on Amazon days after the police arrested him based on Mr Babalola’s petition.

The police charged him with 16 counts of criminal defamation and arraigned him before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado Ekiti. They subsequently charged him with 12 counts of cybercrime at the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti.

In addition to the criminal cases, two lawyers from Mr Babalola’s law firm, Afe Babalola & Co. have also filed separate libel suits against Mr Farotimi at the Rivers State High Court and the FCT High Court in Abuja.

The FCT High Court has ordered the seizure of physical copies of the book wherever it might be found.

READ ALSO: LPDC rejects Afe Babalola law firm’s request to disbar Dele Farotimi

Mr Babalola’s law firm, Afe Babalola & Co., also petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), calling for Mr Farotimi’s disbarment over his claims against Nigerian judges, lawyers and courts in his book.

However, the LPDC has dismissed the petition, ruling that the allegations against Mr Farotimi were beyond its jurisdiction.

The committee’s report noted that the allegations in the petition arose from Mr Farotimi’s activities as an author, not in his capacity as a practising lawyer.