The Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has granted lawyer and human rights activist Dele Farotimi bail in the amount of N50 million.
The court’s ruling was made public by Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 election, via his X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday.
Sowore’s post read: “The first hurdle has been crossed. #DeleFarotimi was granted bail with a N50 million surety, with someone possessing landed property. The case has been adjourned to January 29, 2025.”
In a follow-up tweet, Sowore described Farotimi’s trial as “farcical” and stated that it would continue the following day (Tuesday) at the Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti. He also criticized the charges, describing them as based on a “non-existent offence in Ekiti law books.”
“We’ve urged the Attorney-General of Ekiti State to terminate the trial immediately,” Sowore added.
Farotimi was previously remanded in prison custody by the Ado-Ekiti Magistrate Court on December 7, 2024, following his arrest on 16 counts of criminal defamation. His prosecution stems from allegations that he defamed Aare Afe Babalola, a prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of Afe Babalola University, in his book, “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System”.
A petition from Babalola, dated November 19, 2024, and addressed to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, claims that Farotimi’s book falsely accused him of corrupting the Supreme Court, particularly regarding a protracted land dispute spanning over two decades. The petition alleges that Farotimi accused Babalola of orchestrating “egregious acts of evil and injustice”.
Farotimi was apprehended by officers of the Lagos State Police Command and transported to Ekiti for trial.
Despite a directive from the Ekiti State Police Command banning public gatherings and protests for security reasons, the Take It Back (TIB) Movement has vowed to proceed with planned demonstrations in Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, London, and Canada in response to Farotimi’s detention. TIB’s National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, insisted that the police had no legal basis to prohibit peaceful protests.
“The TIB stands firm; our protest will go ahead as planned despite police threats,” Sanyaolu stated. “The Nigerian Police’s lawlessness must not go unchecked. We will continue to peacefully challenge the unlawful actions of the police, who, under the command of the Ekiti Commissioner of Police, unlawfully abducted Farotimi from Lagos and assaulted his staff.”
Babalola’s legal team has stated that Farotimi will regain his freedom only if he can substantiate the allegations he made against the elder statesman.
