Farotimi Granted bail, but Court seizes Passport and gags him from Media

A Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti has granted the human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, on N30 million bail, pending the trial for allegedly defaming prominent lawyer, Afe Babalola.

The court’s judge, Abayomi Adeosun, granted Farotimi’s bail application on Friday, December, 20.

The bail conditions include two sureties, who must be responsible citizens and the defendant’s international passport seized by the court.

As part of the bail condition, Farotimi was restricted from media interviews during the pendency of the case.

Dele Farotimi, a vocal critic of human rights abuses and advocate for justice, was arrested after Afe Babalola, a senior lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University, filed a petition against him.

Babalola claimed that, the accused defamed him in his controversial book titled: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.

The charges, detailed under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention,) Act, 2015, centre on allegations of defamation stemming from Farotimi’s book, “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.”

The iDeemlawful reported that the court denied the activist bail and remanded him in prison few weeks ago.

The case with suit number MAD/1,476.C/2024, lists the Ekiti State commissioner of police as the complainant.

It quoted court filings, as saying excerpts from the book allegedly made damaging remarks about Babalola, referring to him in derogatory terms.

The filing shows the prosecution arguing that such descriptions were intended to harm Afe Babalola’s reputation.

The iDeemlawful reported how the police arrested the activist (Farotimi) on Tuesday, December 3, 2014 in Lagos State. His arrest was exposed by Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, in a post on his X handle.

Farotimi was subsequently transferred to Ekiti State, where he was later detained by the State Police Command.

His arrest sparked outrage, with notable figures like the former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, describing it as a gross misuse of police powers and an assault on democracy and justice.

Also, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) condemned his arrest, while also demanding his immediate release.

The NBA strongly condemned the alleged invasion of Farotimi’s law firm and the harassment of lawyers and staff within the premises by the police.

The NBA described the police actions as a troubling breach of the rule of law and the sanctity of the legal profession.

On December 11, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) issued an interim order banning the sale of Farotimi’s book in which he allegedly defamed the Senior Advocate’s.