Human rights advocate and lawyer Dele Farotimi Tuesday morning met his bail conditions and walked out of the Ekiti Correctional Centre where he was remanded since his arrest on December 3.
He was arraigned at an Ekiti Magistrate court after he was arrested in Lagos and transported to Ekiti to face the charges of defamation, which is a bailable offence, yet he was remanded.
Farotimi who is also facing a separate charge of cyberbullying brought by the police in the Federal High Court Ado Ekiti said after his release: “It will never be an easy journey when you are fighting evil.
“But some years back, God told me that ‘truth is enough.
“Only truth. It is the weapon by which you can slay the monster called Nigeria. In my fight and advocacy against this evil empire we are living in, I’ve never lied against anyone,” Mr Farotimi said.
Afe Afebabola SAN an influential lawyer had claimed that he was defamed by Mr. Farotimi in his book titled ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’.
Meanwhile the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has rejected Babalola’s request to revoke Mr. Farotimi’s law practicing license of lawyer.
LPDC replied to a petition authored by Ola Faro, a lawyer in Emmanuel Chambers, alleging Mr Farotimi made defamatory statements against the Supreme Court and the legal profession in his controversial book ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’.
In its report marked B8B/LPDC/1571/2024, the legal committee said offences identified in the petition are linked to Mr Farotimi’s capacity as an author, not during his practice as a legal professional.
The LPDC chairman, Justice Isaq Usman Bello, further noted the petition could not be granted due to jurisdictional limitations, advising parties involved to rather seek redress in court.
“The publication is an intellectual property and not a conduct or action committed while practicing as a legal practitioner. All aggrieved parties who find the publication ‘defamatory’ should ventilate their grievances through the regular courts”, the report noted.
