Lawyer Dele Farotimi broke down in tears during a live session on Sunday while reflecting on the support he received from Nigerians during his detention.
Mr Farotimi was arrested in his Lagos office on December 3 by policemen from Ekiti Command and driven to Ekiti to face defamation charges. Farotimi is accused of defaming senior lawyer Afe Babalola in his book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
Farotimi was released from the correctional centre in Ekiti on December 24 after meeting his bail conditions.
Announcing his freedom, former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore wrote on social media, “I am pleased to report that Dele Farotimi is no longer being held at the prison yards in Ekiti State and is now returning home to Lagos.”
During the live session, Farotimi spoke with deep emotion about how the collective voice of Nigerians helped secure his release.
“We stop being humans because we became Nigerians. Nigerians overlooked my ethnicity, my religion and spoke for me,” he said.
“Nigeria couldn’t happen to me because people spoke for me,” he added.
On December 20, a Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti granted bail to Farotimi.
The bail conditions included a N30 million bond, two sureties, one of whom must be a property owner, submission of Farotimi’s passport and prohibition of Farotimi granting media interviews once released.
