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Dele Farotimi Says He Still Has Four Lawsuits Despite Case Withdrawal
Activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has revealed that he is still battling four separate lawsuits in different states, all filed by members of the Aare Afe Babalola law office.
He shared this on Sunday during the Toyin Falola Interviews, days after Aare Afe Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University, agreed to withdraw legal cases against him.
Farotimi had previously been arrested and arraigned in two different courts in Ekiti State after Babalola filed a petition accusing him of defamation.
The allegations stemmed from his book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, which Babalola claimed contained defamatory content.
As a result, Farotimi faced trial for criminal defamation in an Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court and was also charged with cyberbullying at the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti.
Following interventions by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other senior traditional rulers, Babalola decided to drop the charges. However, during Sunday’s discussion themed Politics, Law and Society, Farotimi disclosed that while the criminal cases had been withdrawn, four civil suits remained active.
“My inability to fully speak on certain aspects of this matter is because, even though the criminal proceedings have been discontinued, I still have four ongoing cases in different states, all filed by members of the same law office,” he said.
Farotimi defended his book, emphasizing that it was not written out of gossip or idle speculation but was the result of thorough research.
“I wasn’t in a beer parlour, an officers’ mess, or sitting around gossiping. I wrote a book,” he said. “If anyone thinks I’ve lied, they should read it and challenge me with facts.”
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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