The authorized representatives of Afe Babalola, SAN, the founding father of Afe Babalola College in Ado Ekiti, have asserted that the controversial human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, will stay in custody till he substantiates his claims in opposition to the esteemed elder statesman.

The attorneys indicated that Babalola had formally requested the police to research the defamatory statements made by Farotimi in his publication titled, ‘Nigeria and its Legal Justice System.’

They emphasised that the choice to carry the activist earlier than the court docket was a vital step for the legislation to deal with the allegations appropriately.

Moreover, the attorneys contended that Farotimi’s actions had been geared toward damaging Babalola’s hard-earned status, which he has cultivated over a few years of devoted effort.

Naija Information reviews that Afe Babalola’s attorneys said this at a press convention held on Friday within the capital of Ekiti State.

Babalola’s counsel who addressed the media on the occasion is Owoseni Ajayi, Olakanmi Falade, and Lawrence Fasanmi, all of whom are former chairpersons of the Nigerian Bar Affiliation, Ado Ekiti Department.

In response to Babalola’s petition, the police in Ekiti State apprehended Farotimi in Lagos on Tuesday and subsequently offered him earlier than an Ekiti State Magistrates Court docket in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, going through costs associated to defamation in opposition to the elder statesman.

Whereas the police requested the court docket to remand Farotimi in a correctional facility, his lawyer sought bail for him. Nevertheless, Chief Justice of the Peace Abayomi Adeosun ordered Farotimi to be remanded and adjourned the case till December 10, 2024.

Owoseni Ajayi, the lead counsel for Babalola and a former Commissioner for Justice and Legal professional Normal in Ekiti State, said that the aim of the press convention was to make clear varied deceptive reviews in regards to the ongoing authorized proceedings between the Nigerian Police and Farotimi concerning the defamation allegations in opposition to Babalola.

He stated, “All details are verifiable. I urge Nigerians to confirm and discover out what the reality is first earlier than selecting a aspect.

“Aare Afe Babalola, in his petition, urged the police to make use of your good workplace to ask Mr Dele Farotimi to indicate proof of the truthfulness of his publication, failing of which he ought to be prosecuted for legal defamation in accordance with the requirement of the extant legal guidelines of Nigeria.

“Confiscate all defamatory publications till the investigations are accomplished” and as effectively “cease Mr Dele Farotimi by himself and/or his brokers from additional publishing any defamatory contents to assault my hard-earned status, the status of my legislation agency and that of my attorneys and of the Nigerian judiciary.”

Ajayi queried, “Is it unsuitable for Aare Afe Babalola to hunt justice for these false utterances in opposition to him? Ought to justice solely be accessible to Mr Dele Farotimi as a result of Aare Afe Babalola is a worldwide icon?

“As soon as Mr Dele Farotimi can present proof that his assertions within the ebook are true, then he can be free. The legislation permits free speech, however not one that’s calculated to injure the nice status of one other.”

He stated that the police had executed the best factor and wanted to be counseled for the way through which the arrest was made and arraignment inside 24 hours, including, “The mode of arraignment was so as.

“Additionally, the ebook being distributed and accessed in Ekiti, as long as defamation is a criminal offense in Ekiti, this has established legal legal responsibility inside Ekiti, putting it below the investigatory jurisdiction of the police and the jurisdiction of the Ekiti State Excessive court docket, given the cross-state nature of the alleged crime.

“For the uninformed saying the court docket denied him bail, there was nothing like that. There may be nothing particular within the case of Dele Farotimi in that the court docket can not ask his attorneys to make their bail utility formal.

“The statements made by Farotimi within the ebook counsel a deliberate try by Farotimi to malign the status of Aare Afe Babalola and the esteemed legislation agency of Afe Babalola and Co.

“The accusations made are baseless, offensive and never solely missing in fact but in addition designed to trigger irreparable hurt to the standing and legacy of considered one of Nigeria’s foremost authorized minds. These defamatory remarks made within the ebook can’t be remedied by the award of damages”.

Ajayi stated that the assertions by Farotimi within the ebook “runs foul of Part 59 of the Legal Code Act, which talks about publication of false information with intent to trigger concern and alarm within the public.

“Subsection (1) states that ‘any one that publishes or reproduces any assertion, hearsay or report which is prone to trigger concern and alarm to the general public or to disturb the general public peace, understanding or having purpose to consider that assertion, hearsay or report back to be false, shall be responsible of a misdemeanour and liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for 3 years’.

“These pushing Farotimi aren’t his pals. By the point they lead him to the dungeon, he would notice they had been deceiving him. Let me advise his relations to apologise to Aare. Aare Babalola is a builder, not focused on destroying Farotimi,” he added.