Activist lawyer Dele Farotimi’s book Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System has soared to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list amid his ongoing legal troubles.
The book, which offers a scathing critique of Nigeria’s justice system, achieved this milestone shortly after Mr Farotimi’s arrest and detention over alleged defamation of legal luminary Afe Babalola.
Published independently on July 2, 2024, the book initially struggled with low sales but saw a dramatic surge within 24 hours of Farotimi’s detention. It now leads the Amazon “elections” category, ranking above notable titles like Bob Woodward’s War and Hillary Clinton’s Something Lost, Something Gained.
To qualify as an Amazon bestseller, a book must outsell others in its category over a recent period, which reflects the growing interest in Farotimi’s work. This surge is credited to heightened public curiosity, especially among younger readers, following the controversy surrounding his arrest.
Roving Heights, a prominent Nigerian bookstore, reported an unprecedented spike in demand which temporarily crashed its website. The store directed customers to place orders via its social media platforms. Similarly, readers on X (formerly Twitter) expressed frustration over the scarcity of both physical and digital copies of the book.
Farotimi was arrested in Lagos on Monday by policemen from Ekiti State and transferred to Ado Ekiti, where he was arraigned on Wednesday. The Ekiti State Chief Magistrates’ Court ordered his remand at the state correctional centre, pending his trial for alleged defamation.
The charges stem from claims made in Farotimi’s book, in which he accused Babalola, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), of corrupting the Supreme Court to secure fraudulent judgments for his clients. Farotimi has pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charges filed against him.
In response, Babalola denied the allegations and petitioned the Ekiti State Police Command, citing 31 defamatory statements from the book. He argued that these claims damaged his reputation within the legal profession and among the general public.
Chief Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun has adjourned the case to December 10, 2024.
