Dele Farotimi faces multiple legal battles, including claims for over N1 billion in damages, despite the withdrawal of one case by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Afe Babalola.
Just a week after Afe Babalola withdrew his legal actions against Farotimi, there are growing concerns among Nigerians about the status of other pending lawsuits.
These concerns stem from the fact that the police, after arresting and charging Farotimi with 12 counts of cybercrime and 16 counts of criminal defamation based on Babalola’s petition, have seen additional legal actions filed by other lawyers. These lawsuits seek over N1 billion in damages from the activist.
On December 6, 2024, SAN Kehinde Ogunwumiju filed a lawsuit against Farotimi, accusing him of defamation in his book ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.’ Ogunwumiju, a partner at Afe Babalola & Co, demanded N500 million in damages. He also asked the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja to block the book’s publication and sale in both physical and online bookstores.
Furthermore, Ogunwumiju requested an order for the seizure of all copies of the book and demanded an apology from Farotimi in two national newspapers.
Just five days later, on December 11, 2024, another lawyer from Babalola’s firm, Ola Faro, filed a petition in the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt.
Faro accused Farotimi of defaming him in the same book, claiming the text falsely portrayed him, Babalola, and their firm as compromising the integrity of the Supreme Court.
Faro requested N500 million in damages for defamation, plus an additional N100 million for distributing the book.
Amid these lawsuits, the dispute between Babalola and Farotimi saw intervention from traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.
As a result, the police prosecutor, Samson Osobu, requested the withdrawal of cybercrime charges against Farotimi during a hearing at the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, last Wednesday.
However, the case concerning other criminal charges filed against Farotimi in a chief magistrate’s court in Ado-Ekiti, scheduled for February 13, 2025, has not been withdrawn as of this report’s publication.
Farotimi was arrested in Lagos on December 3, 2024, following a police investigation triggered by a defamation and cyberbullying complaint.
The Ekiti State Police Command confirmed his arrest, noting that all previous attempts to bring him in had been unsuccessful.
