CITIZENS COMPASS – Few hours after he was granted N50m bail, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, on Monday, filed a preliminary objection against the Defamation charge against him.
Recall that the hearing comes up on Tuesday.
In the Objection, Farotimi asked the Magistrate Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, to strike out the suit against the Defamation.
The preliminary objection dated December 9, 2024, was filed through his lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, leading 19 others.
It was brought under Section 36(8) OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999, SECTIONS 4(1) OF THE CRIMINAL LAW OF EKITI STATE, SECTION 77 (10(a), 147 AND 370 OF THE EKITI STATE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAW, 2014) and SECTIONS 25 AND 42 OF THE MAGISTRATES COURTS LAW (N0.5, 2014) OF EKITI STATE.
In the five grounds of the objection, Farotimi contends among other things that the charge before the magistrate court is unknown to law, non-existent and that the magistrate acted without jurisdiction on an incompetent charge.
Specifically, the five grounds of the application are:
(1) that the 16 count charge before the magistrate court refers to alleged offences contrary to and punishable under the”Criminal Code Act”.
(2) that the Criminal Code Act was a law applicable by adoption and/or domestication in Ekiti State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16. Laws of Ekiti, 2012.
(3) that the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti, 2012 has been replaced and expressly repealed by Section 429 (a) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
(4) that the crime of defamation of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, and two of his partners, Olu Daramola, SAN, Olu Faro and the law firm of Afe Babalola & Co., alleged and particularised in all said counts of the Charge, and upon which the Defendant was arraigned and unwittingly ordered detained in prison by the – Honourable Magistrate, is unknown to and are non-existent in the Críminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
(5) In the premise, the Honourable Magistrate acted without jurisdiction when he countenanced the Charge, allowed the arraignment of the Defendant, and ordered his detention in prison upon the said incompetent charge.
Apart from the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yinka Olumide-Fusika, who is leading the defence team for Farotimi, the team also has three other senior advocates: Festus Emiri, Bamidele lbironke, Segun Ololade as well as 16 other legal practitioners.
On Monday, Farotimi appeared in court in handcuffs following charges brought against him by Afe Babalola (SAN) under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015.
The handcuffing had generated controversies from Human rights activists.
Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has berated the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for handcuffing fellow lawyer, Dele Farotimi during arraignment over a defamation case.
Odinkalu compared the scenario with how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were seen “honourably escorting” a former “honourably escorting” a former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello amid a multi-billion naira fraud trial.
Deji Adeyanju, a well-known activist and lawyer, posted on X, condemning the incident as an embarrassment to the legal profession. He remarked, “Shame on everyone involved in this embarrassment to the legal profession. A lawyer in handcuffs over defamation, not armed robbery, kidnapping or any crime. No wonder they abducted Dele Farotimi and took him to where Baba Afe Babalola is king, Ekiti.”
