Afe Babalola & Co, a renowned law firm, said media tactics and street yelling won’t stop the prosecution of Dele Farotimi, a lawyer and activist, for alleged defamation and cyberbullying.
BusinessDay reports that on Tuesday, operatives of the Ekiti State Police Command arrested lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, in Lagos following a petition alleging defamation and cyberbullying.
Farotimi had earlier alleged that officers from the Ekiti command were plotting to abduct him from Lagos.
He accused the police of employing questionable tactics to facilitate his arrest, despite his compliance with an invitation from the Zone 2 Police Headquarters in Lagos weeks earlier.
The police claim that Farotimi criminally defamed legal luminary Afe Babalola, a respected senior advocate of Nigeria, in his book titled “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.”
On Wednesday, Farotimi was arraigned before a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti on a 16-count charge. The activist pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Subsequently, the court ordered his remand, intensifying public reactions.
Since his arrest, there has been a wave of criticism on social media, with prominent figures including Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and Omoyele Sowore calling for his release.
Sowore, a human rights activist, has urged Nigerians to participate in a nationwide/global protest against what he described as judicial overreach in the prosecution of the human rights activist.
In a press statement issued on Friday and signed by Adebayo Adenipekun, the Afe Babalola & Co. expressed gratitude to those who have reached out in support during what it described as an “assault on the integrity and reputation” built by its founder, Afe Babalola, over the past seven decades.
The firm emphasised its commitment to defending its name through legal means, asserting that inaction might be interpreted as an admission of guilt.
“We acknowledge several concerns and suggestions on this subject, and the inference that the Firm and its members would be better served by ignoring these published falsehoods. However, if we do not take any action to correct the false, reckless, and malicious statements by this author, our silence will necessarily be interpreted as an admission of guilt,” the statement read.
Afe Babalola & Co highlighted its long-standing adherence to legal principles, noting that it has consistently operated within the boundaries of the law.
The firm stated that the decision to pursue legal action was made despite the potential for “spin and manipulation” by Farotimi and his supporters, as it believes this is the only way to address the allegations and hold the author accountable.
While acknowledging the constitutional guarantee of fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech, the firm pointed out that these rights are not absolute.
“The freedom to speak is not freedom from consequence of speech,” the firm stated. “The subject of speech also has a fundamental right to hold the speaker accountable using lawful means.”
Referring to the ongoing legal proceedings, Afe Babalola & Co refrained from discussing the specifics of its case against Farotimi.
It criticised what it described as the author’s reliance on media tactics, emphasising its belief in the judicial process.
“Unlike him, we believe in the justice delivery system every time, not only when it favours us,” the firm said. It also dismissed claims of bias in its legal victories, asserting that several lawyers have successfully litigated against them in court, which it believes disproves Farotimi’s allegations.
“In six decades of litigating cases across Nigeria, we have encountered several lawyers who prevailed against us in court. Their existence disproves Mr Farotimi’s wild accusations and indicates that at the end of this process, only the law will matter not media tactic or street yelling,” the statement concluded.
