A Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, struck out cybercrime charges against lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi. The charges were filed by the police at the behest of Senior Advocate of Nigeria Afe Babalola, who had previously accused Mr. Farotimi of defamation. Mr. Babalola subsequently withdrew the case following an intervention by traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife.
A Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Wednesday, struck out cybercrimes charges filed by the police against lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi . These charges were brought at the instance of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola , following a petition accusing Mr. Farotimi of defamation.
The police also filed a separate criminal defamation case at a chief magistrate’s court in Ado-Ekiti, prompted by a similar petition from Mr. Babalola. On Sunday, Mr. Babalola announced his decision to withdraw the cases against Mr. Farotimi following pleas to end the litigation, particularly after the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other traditional rulers. Mr. Farotimi, 57, was not present at the meeting held at ABUAD, where Mr. Babalola granted him unconditional forgiveness. Police prosecutor Samson Osobu applied for the withdrawal of the cybercrime charges at the resumed hearing of the case on Wednesday. Mr. Osobu told the court that the prosecution filed a notice of discontinuance following the desire of Mr. Babalola, the nominal complainant, to withdraw the case. He stated, “The matter is slated for hearing today, but we have filed a notice of discontinuance dated 29 January 2025, and filed this morning.” Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Mr. Olumide-Fusika, Mr. Farotimi’s lawyer, affirmed that the cybercrime case had ended but declined to comment on related matters pending in other courts. Meanwhile, there is another criminal charge filed by the police against Mr. Farotimi which is still pending before a chief magistrate’s court in Ado-Ekiti. It is expected that the police will also move to discontinue proceedings in that court and withdraw the charge. Additionally, two lawyers from Mr. Babalola’s firm, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Ola Faro, had also sued Mr. Farotimi for N500 million and N600 million, respectively. However, since the news of Mr. Babalola’s forgiveness broke on Monday, Mr. Farotimi, who is usually outspoken, has remained silent and has not addressed it on his social media handles or YouTube page, where he previously provided updates about the case with Mr. Babalola. His first Facebook post since the development was a cryptic message shared on Tuesday, offering no clear indication of the possible real-life situation he was referring to. “The good hunting dog is never distracted by the rustling of squirrels in the underbrush..🇳🇬😊,” the post read. When contacted via WhatsApp on Tuesday, Mr. Farotimi’s response confirmed that he had been deliberately silent on the report of the forgiveness granted him by Mr. Babalola. The initial charges against Mr. Farotimi stemmed from Mr. Babalola’s petition to the police, accusing Mr. Farotimi of defaming him in his book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.’ In the book, which became an Amazon bestseller, Mr. Farotimi accuses Mr. Babalola of corrupting Nigeria’s Supreme Court in the service of his clients. Subsequently, the police arrested and charged him with 16 counts of criminal defamation, leading to his arraignment before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado Ekiti. He also faced 12 cybercrime offences at the Federal High Court in Ade- Ekiti. Mr. Farotimi, who pleaded not guilty to all charges in both courts, was remanded in prison in Ado-Ekiti following his arraignment. However, in a surprising turn of events on Sunday, Mr. Babalola announced his decision to drop the pursuit of the cases after listening to a delegation of traditional rulers led by the Ooni of Ife who appealed to him to forgive Mr. Farotimi.
Nigeria Dele Farotimi Afe Babalola Cybercrime Defamation Court Case Ado Ekiti Ooni Of Ife
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