Human rights activist and former African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has sharply criticized Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for his recent visit to legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.

Obi’s visit to Ekiti State on Monday wasn’t limited to his meeting with Afe Babalola.

He also took time to meet with detained lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, who has been embroiled in legal battles since his arrest.

Farotimi, a vocal critic of systemic corruption and the Nigerian legal system, has a history of challenging powerful figures and advocating for judicial reform.

His arrest, on allegations of defamation against Afe Babalola, has been widely viewed by activists as a tactic to silence dissent.

Farotimi was detained in Lagos last Tuesday before being charged before a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti on a 16-count charge, primarily related to defamation.

The situation escalated further when, on December 6, the Nigerian police filed additional cybercrime charges against him at the Federal High Court in Ekiti.

On Monday, December 9, the court granted him bail to the tune of N50 million, a sum that his legal team is still working to meet.

Sowore’s criticism of Peter Obi’s visit was pointed and symbolic. In a post on his X handle (formerly Twitter), Sowore likened Obi’s actions to historical injustices, saying, “I condemn those who went to ‘beg’ Chief Afe Babalola today over the unjust detention and persecution of Dele Farotimi.

The delegation led by Peter Obi did colossal injustice to the struggle to drain the swamp of judicial criminality in our country.

Obi’s action is like forcing Rosa Parks to return to the back of the bus of racial injustice during the civil rights era in the United States! The struggle continues! #FreeDeleFarotimiNow.”