A few days later, a Chief Magistrate Court in Ado Ekiti had granted Farotimi N30 million bail, Human rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi has regained freedom after meeting his bail conditions and is on his way to his Lagos home.
The development was disclosed by politician and activist, Omoyele Sowore.
Recall that earlier this month, he was detained on charges of defaming Afe Babalola, a Nigerian senior advocate and the founder of Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti, ABUAD.
Despite a strong security presence, Farotimi, who was remanded in a detention facility in the capital of Ekiti State, Ado Ekiti, came to the magistrate court grounds at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Friday.
Sowore claimed in a post on X that the troubled activist lawyer was no longer in the Ekiti State prison yards.
He wrote: “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!”
Another attorney and activist, Chidi Odinakalu, confirmed his release on X, writing, “In Ekiti, @DeleFarotimi has perfected bail & regained his freedom.” He will be returning to Lagos. We urge all of Justice’s friends who have shown vigilance throughout this to continue doing so. Both the end and the beginning of the end are not here. #AttritionMarathon is what this is.
This comes after Peter Obi, a politician and former governor of Anambra State, pledged last week to assist in fulfilling Farotimi’s bail requirements.
In the same vein, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has rejected a request by Chief Afe Babalola SAN’s law firm, Emmanuel Chambers, to revoke the law-practicing license of lawyer and author, Tomilola Farotimi, also known as Dele Farotimi, over allegations of criminal defamation and professional misconduct.
The LPDC encouraged aggrieved parties to seek remedies in ordinary courts after concluding that it lacked the authority to handle complaints regarding publications.
Farotimi was brought before the LPDC based on a petition authored by Ola Faro, a lawyer in Emmanuel Chambers.
The petition alleged that Farotimi, in his book “Nigeria and Criminal Justice System,” made defamatory statements against the Supreme Court and the legal profession.
However, in its report, the LPDC determined that the alleged offences occurred in Farotimi’s capacity as an author, not during his practice as a legal professional.
Justice Isaq Usman Bello, the chairman of the LPDC, confirmed that jurisdictional restrictions prevented the petition from being granted.
Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu and HRH Oba Tijani Akinloye and others filed suit number SC/146/2006, according to the book, alleging bribery, corruption, and other unethical conduct by court officials and the legal community.
Farotimi was charged in Emmanuel Chambers’ petition with misrepresenting the facts of the case, demeaning other solicitors, and taking steps to thwart justice for his own benefit. References to a Supreme Court ruling that impacted numerous residential estates and later court cases that challenged the ruling of the highest court were among the specific complaints.
The Chambers asked that Farotimi’s name be removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners after claiming that his book violated multiple provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2023.
According to LPDC’s report, they noted that the publication is an intellectual property and not a conduct or action committed while practicing as a legal practitioner. All aggrieved parties who find the publication ‘defamatory’ should ventilate their grievances through the regular courts.”
