Human Rights Activist and lawyer, Mr. Dele Farotimi has reiterated that he will have the last laugh in the ongoing legal face-off between him and retired Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Afe Babalola.
Mr Babalola, founder of Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), had petitioned the police in the state alleging that Mr Farotimi defamed him in his book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.
Babalola’s petition led to the police filing criminal defamation charges against Farotimi, leading to his arraignment at a chief magistrate’s court in Ado Ekiti.
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During the proceedings, Mr Farotimi denied the charges. The trial magistrate subsequently ordered his remand in prison and scheduled the hearing of his bail application.
Meanwhile, following the public outcry that trailed his arrest, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Peter Obi, visited Afe Babalola.
Obi had reportedly pleaded with legal jurist to consider the “situation” of Dele Farotimi.
But Farotimi on Friday, made it clear that he opposed any attempts to mediate or beg for his release, stating that the legal process should take its natural route.
The activist, who said this while speaking with fellow human rights lawyer, Tope Temokun, who visited him, put to rest reports of visits to Babalola by supporters.
He warned those who visited Afe Babalola, including the former Governor of Anambra State, never to visit anyone to plead for his release.
Temokun stated that Farotimi was being detained in prison while his opponents were lodging lawsuits in Ibadan, Abuja, and Rivers, seemingly preparing for a legal show down.
He said, ironically, they were serving all the court processes on a man detained in a prison cell in Ekiti, where he could not readily defend himself.
According to Temokun, “Around 4:30pm of this day, Friday, the 13th of December, 2024, we stepped out of the Correctional Service (prison) in Afao road, Ado Ekiti, where we were with Dele Farotimi.
“He speaks calmly but with loud message. He is unambiguous about it, that all he wrote in his book is the truth. One thing is clear from this visit and hours long talk, that Dele Farotimi knows things that the crowd does not know.”
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“He wants this matter to travel the natural route. He disowned in categorical terms, any move by anybody to beg anyone on his behalf or as a condition for his release.
“He assertively, vibrantly and untiringly posited that if he had added a single lie to his claims in his book, he would lose heavily in this battle. But if his weapon remains all truth, he will have the last laugh.
“Those who postulated that Dele Farotimi is reckless in his writings and documentations, should rather demand a fair play and a level play ground so that we could hear the other side.”
Speaking further, Temokun said that citizens should be interested to know what he knows as proof.
“But Farotimi is kept in prison while his opponents are tooling up in law suits in Ibadan, Abuja and Rivers seeminly poised for a fight and funnily serving all these court processes on a man in his prison cell in Ekiti where he cannot readily make his defence.
“A question that should bother everyone is this: this book has been out for some time, so why did it take so long to file all these lawsuits? Why did they have to wait until his arrest? Why did they have to wait until his remand? Why did they have to ensure he was kept out of circulation and his voice silenced before raising these issues? Why did they wait until now? Why?”
“Is this how jurisprudence works? Is this how history works? Has jurisprudence developed in this way?
“A man is held in cuffs and at the gallows, yet some of us, in defense of orthodoxy, accuse him of blasphemy instead of demanding justice for all parties involved. They are convicting and crucifying Farotimi without hearing him, even in the home city of Pilate.
“This rain rains in torrents but it shall not rain for long. It shall be temporary. Soon things will unravel. The ground will be dry again”.
