An undisclosed court in Ado-Ekiti has, on Wednesday, remanded human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, following his arrest yesterday.
This was made known in a post on X formerly Tweeter, by activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore.
According to him, the lawyer was denied bail as the judge who presided over the hearing adjourned the case till 10th of December 2024.
He said, “The Nigerian justice system is whack, as expected has been hurriedly prosecuted and sent to prison after being denied bail by a judge in Ado Ekiti pre-arranged to do the same.
“The Nigerian Police Force, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, and the judicial officers had it all planned out even before they sent the goons from Ekiti state command RRS (formerly SARS) to abduct him.
“The case adjourned till December 10, 2024.” Sowore wrote.
It will be recalled that the Nigeria police arrested Farotimi for allegedly defaming the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa Group, Tony Elumelu.
He was allegedly picked up from his residence in Lagos and whisked to Ado, the Ekiti State capital.
His arrest generated a lot of condemnation, especially the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) faulting it in strong terms through a press statement by the NBA President, Afam Osigwe, on Tuesday night in Abuja.
It lamented the alleged invasion of Farotimi’s law firm and the harassment of lawyers and staff within the premises.
Osigwe described the action of the Nigeria police as a troubling breach of the rule of law and the sanctity of the legal profession.
He said while the Nigeria Police Force had the authority to investigate crimes, such power must be exercised within the confines of the law and in respect of offences recognised under Nigerian law.
“We must reiterate that the alleged offence of libel, for which Dele Farotimi was reportedly arrested, is not recognised as a criminal offense under the laws of Lagos State.
“The Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 repealed the criminalisation of defamation by omitting it from its provisions.
“This progressive legislative move aligns with global best practices, which treat defamation as a civil wrong rather than a criminal offence,” he stated.
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