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Afenifere Urges Police to Drop Defamation Charges Against Dele Farotimi

The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, has called on the police to halt the prosecution of Lagos lawyer Mr. Dele Farotimi, who is facing charges of defamation against Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Ado-Ekiti.

Afenifere, led by Chief Ayo Adebanjo, argued that the charge against Farotimi was not supported by Ekiti State law. Farotimi’s legal troubles stemmed from his book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, in which he alleged that Babalola had corrupted the Supreme Court. Following a petition by Babalola, Farotimi was arrested in Lagos and charged in an Ekiti State Chief Magistrates’ Court. His bail application is set to be heard on December 20.

In response to his arrest, Afenifere emphasized that while Farotimi should face trial, he must be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court with competent jurisdiction. Afenifere’s Deputy Leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, criticized the denial of bail by Ekiti Chief Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun, alleging that the police were undermining Farotimi’s right to free speech and movement.

Olaitan pointed out that Farotimi’s lawyers had filed a preliminary objection highlighting that the charges against him were not recognized in Ekiti State law, but the court ignored the objection. Afenifere described the delay in granting bail as an attempt to unjustly incarcerate Farotimi.

Afenifere called for the immediate and unconditional release of Farotimi and the investigation of the circumstances surrounding his arrest. The group stressed that while Babalola has the right to defend his reputation legally, the prosecution against Farotimi should be terminated due to the lack of legal grounds for the charges.

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