A main magistrates court in Ado-Ekiti has postponed Dele Farotimi’s bail hearing till December 20. The magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, deferred deciding on the bail application until December 20 and ordered that the activist be held in prison.
During the trial, Farotimi pleaded not guilty to the police’s 14-count charge against him. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, Farotimi’s attorney, has submitted a preliminary objection requesting the court to dismiss the indictment.
He stated that the case before the court was not legal, and the offence of defamation was not accepted by the Ekiti State Criminal Law, 2021.
Farotimi is before a chief magistrate’s court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, for allegedly defaming Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Afe Babalola.
Farotimi’s detention has sparked widespread condemnation. Many Nigerians demanding his immediate release. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is among those calling for his release.
Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential contender for 2023, condemned the human rights lawyer and advocate’s incarceration, claiming he is in prison for speaking truth to power.
In a post on X on International Human Rights Day, Abubakar stated that the lawyer’s arrest is a clear evidence of the country’s endemic climate of impunity and rights breaches.
“Dele Farotimi now languishes in prison custody not for any crime but for the supposed ‘crime’ of persistently speaking truth to power,” a press release said.
“His only offence lies in his unflinching commitment to exposing the truths that the government and its collaborators would rather remain hidden,” Atiku told the crowd.
He criticised the circumstances behind Farotimi’s arrest, noting that he is being punished under a cyberbullying statute that does not exist in Ekiti State. Similarly, Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress’ 2023 presidential contender, criticised Farotimi’s detention.
Sowore wrote on his X account, “It is important that the Nigerian police are informed that the institution cannot continue to be used to settle personal scores, and we, the citizens of Nigeria, will no longer tolerate such a situation.
Therefore, the police at Zone 2 in Lagos are advised to release Barrister Dele Farotimi immediately.” Also, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) condemned the arrest, describing it as illegal.
