Renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Aare Afe Babalola, has explained his decision to petition the police over alleged defamatory statements made by lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi in a recently published book.
In a petition dated November 19 and addressed to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, Babalola accused Farotimi of making baseless and damaging claims in his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
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The legal luminary alleged that the book contained statements questioning his integrity and accusing his law firm, Afe Babalola & Co, of corrupting the judiciary in a decades-long land dispute.
“I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law firm, Afe Babalola & Co, and my lawyers, Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro, by one Dele Farotimi,” Babalola stated in the petition. He further alleged that Farotimi’s statements were designed to tarnish his reputation, discredit his law firm, and undermine the trust of his clients.
The dispute stemmed from a 2013 Supreme Court judgment involving 254 hectares of land in Lagos, which was awarded to Babalola’s client, the Gbadamosi Eletu family. Farotimi, who represented another party affected by the judgment, reportedly criticised the ruling in his book, accusing Babalola’s legal team of compromising the judiciary to secure the outcome.
Babalola highlighted specific passages in the book that he deemed defamatory, including claims that he “corrupted the Supreme Court” and engaged in unethical practices. According to Babalola, these accusations were amplified through media interviews and online platforms, further damaging his reputation.
The legal icon also called for an investigation into Farotimi’s claims, the recovery of all copies of the book, and an end to its distribution. “All these statements are false and deliberately written to destroy my reputation,” Babalola asserted.
On Wednesday, Farotimi was arraigned before a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti on a 16-count charge of criminal defamation and was subsequently remanded in prison custody. His arrest followed a formal complaint lodged by Babalola, who described the allegations as a grave affront to his six-decade-long career in law.
Babalola, who is also the founder of Afe Babalola University, reiterated his commitment to integrity, discipline, and professionalism, urging authorities to address what he termed as Farotimi’s “disregard for the rule of law.”
