Prominent activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has disclosed that he is still battling four separate lawsuits across different states, all filed by members of Aare Afe Babalola’s law office.
Farotimi made this revelation on Sunday, February 15, 2025 during the Toyin Falola Interviews, weeks after legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, announced the withdrawal of cases against him.
Babalola had initially petitioned the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, accusing Farotimi of defamation over claims made in his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System. As a result, Farotimi was arrested and arraigned before two courts in Ekiti: the Magistrates’ Court, Ado Ekiti District, for alleged criminal defamation, and the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, for alleged cyber-bullying.
Following interventions from the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other senior traditional rulers, Babalola agreed on January 27, 2025, to withdraw the criminal charges against Farotimi.
However, during Sunday’s discussion on the theme Politics, Law, and Society, Farotimi revealed that, while the police had dropped criminal proceedings, the legal battle was far from over.
“My inability to speak on certain aspects of this issue is because, despite the discontinuation of the criminal cases, I am still facing four lawsuits in different states, all filed by members of the same law office,” he said.
Defending his book, Farotimi insisted that his writings were not based on gossip or idle talk but on thorough research and personal experience.
“I did not sit in a beer parlour or an officers’ mess gossiping. It was not idle, cheap talk. I wrote a book,” he declared. “Let us focus on veracity. Anyone can read it and challenge me if they find any falsehood.”
The lawsuits add another layer to the ongoing debate over free speech, defamation, and the Nigerian legal system, with Farotimi vowing to stand by his claims.
