Ekiti Court Returns Farotimi to Prison for 10 Days
Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has been ordered to remain in prison for an additional ten days after a Chief Magistrate Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, denied him bail. Farotimi is facing charges of defamation against Aare Afe Babalola, a senior advocate of Nigeria and the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD).
The defamation allegedly occurred in Farotimi’s recently published book, “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System”, where he accused Aare Babalola of corrupting the judiciary and influencing the Supreme Court to secure a fraudulent judgment for his clients.
The prosecution, led by Samson Osobu, had initially filed 16 charges against Farotimi, but the charges were later reduced to 14 in an amended charge. Farotimi’s defense team, led by Taiwo Adedeji, sought bail for the defendant, but this was opposed by Osobu, who argued that Farotimi was not competent for bail.
In his ruling, Magistrate Abayomi Adeogun ordered Farotimi to return to the correctional facility and adjourned the case to December 20, 2024, for further hearing. Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti had granted Farotimi bail on Monday in the sum of N50 million, with the next hearing scheduled for January 29, 2025.
Details will follow.
