Former presidential candidate Peter Obi on Monday met with senior lawyer Afe Babalola and a younger lawyer Dele Farotimi in Ekiti State.
Mr Obi travelled from Lagos to Ekiti and held discussions with Babalola on several issues including the situation of Mr Farotimi.
The ex-governor proceeded to the prison facility where Farotimi is being held.
He expressed solidarity and engaged in a candid exchange aimed at addressing the prevailing challenges.
This came after the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State granted Farotimi a N50 million bail for alleged cyber crimes against Babalola.
On Wednesday, December 7, 2024, Farotimi was remanded in prison custody by the Ado-Ekiti Magistrate Court following his arrest on 16 counts of criminal defamation.
Farotimi’s trial comes on the heels of his alleged defamation of Babalola in his recently published book titled Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
According to a petition dated November 19, 2024, and addressed to the Ekiti State commissioner of police Adeniran Akinwale; Babalola detailed how his law firm discovered Farotimi’s book, adding that the accusation stems from a Supreme Court judgment involving a land dispute that spanned over two decades.
Babalola stated that the book accused him of “corrupting the Supreme Court from ages past and had led it to commit the most egregious acts of evil and wanting injustice.”
Farotimi was apprehended by officers of the Lagos State Police Command and transported to Ekiti for arraignment.
Despite a directive by the Ekiti State Police Command banning unlawful gatherings, demonstrations, among others across the state, citing concerns over public safety and security threats, the Take It Back Movement has vowed to go ahead with its planned protests in Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, London and Canada following Farotimi’s detention.
The movement’s national coordinator Juwon Sanyaolu insisted that the police lacked legal basis to ban peaceful protests.
However, Babalola’s lawyers have assured that Farotimi would regain his freedom only if he’s able to prove his allegations against the elder statesman.
