The Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has granted human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, bail in the sum of N50 million. The court’s decision was announced on Monday by Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), through his X handle.
Sowore confirmed the ruling, stating: “The first hurdle was crossed. #DeleFarotimi was granted bail of N50 million with a surety in the like sum, including someone with landed property. The case has been adjourned to January 29, 2025.”
In a follow-up tweet, Sowore criticized Farotimi’s “farcical trial,” revealing that the next session of the trial will take place the following day (Tuesday) at the Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti. He described the charges as stemming from a “non-existent offence in Ekiti law books” and called for the immediate discontinuation of the trial by the Ekiti State Attorney-General.
Farotimi was arrested on December 7, 2024, and remanded in prison custody by the Ado-Ekiti Magistrate Court on 16 counts of criminal defamation. The charges are linked to allegations made in his recently published book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, which is said to have defamed prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola.
Babalola, in a petition to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, outlined his accusations against Farotimi. He claimed that Farotimi’s book accused him of corrupting the Supreme Court, referencing a judgment involving a land dispute that had been ongoing for over 20 years. Babalola’s law firm discovered the allegations in Farotimi’s book, which reportedly claimed that Babalola’s actions led to “the most egregious acts of evil and injustice” in the country’s highest court.
Farotimi was arrested by the Lagos State Police Command and transferred to Ekiti for arraignment.
Despite a directive from the Ekiti State Police Command banning gatherings and demonstrations for public safety reasons, the Take It Back Movement has vowed to continue with its planned protests. The movement, led by National Coordinator Juwon Sanyaolu, intends to stage protests in Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, London, and Canada in response to Farotimi’s detention.
Sanyaolu strongly criticized the police’s actions, asserting that the ban on peaceful protests was illegal. “The lawlessness of the Nigeria Police must not be allowed to go unchecked. The police cannot proscribe peaceful protest—that in itself is illegal. We are peacefully challenging the thuggery of police officers under the command of the Ekiti CP, who came all the way from Ekiti to abduct Farotimi in Lagos and assault his staff,” Sanyaolu stated.
The trial of Dele Farotimi continues to attract significant attention, with calls for an end to what many have described as a politically motivated prosecution.
