Afe Babalola vs Dele Farotimi: Ekiti Magistrate Court Strikes Out Defamation Suit

Ekiti Magistrate Court has struck out the defamation suit against Dele Farotimi.

Newsone Nigeria reports that a Chief Magistrates Court sitting in Ekiti State, southwest Nigeria, has struck out the defamation suit against human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi.

The decision by the Ekiti Magistrate Court followed the application and motion by Martins Akala, the police prosecutor, to withdraw the suit from the court.

On January 29, 2025, the Federal High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti,  the Ekiti State capital, struck out cyberbullying and defamation charges against Farotimi following the police application to withdraw the charge.

In the matter at the Magistrate Court, the Ekiti State police arraigned Farotimi on December 4, 2024, following alleged defamation of legal luminary Afe Babalola in his book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.

Farotimi had in the book claimed that Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court justices among others.

The human rights lawyer was granted bail on December 20, 2024, and adjourned the case till February 13 for a hearing.

However, on January 27, 2025, Afe Babalola agreed to withdraw the criminal defamation cases against Farotimi from the court, following the intervention of prominent traditional rulers led by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

When the matter came up on Thursday, Akala, the police prosecutor, told the court that the defamation suit against Farotimi should be withdrawn following directives from the authorities.

He said, “This matter is slated for hearing today. But I want to seek leave of the court to withdraw the charge against the defendant on the instruction of the police authorities.”

Reacting to the court’s ruling, Farotimi’s counsel, Kembi Adejare said, “the case was struck out based on the application of the prosecution. We welcomed it, they brought us here and they asked us to go.

“In the open court, I said they had just removed the chains, they brought the chains, they removed the chains. Why should we complain?”