₦airaland Forum

Farotimi Told Me He Didn’t Send Obi To Beg Babalola – Lawyer

Temokun said Farotimi is in high spirits and he is optimistic that he would defeat his challengers in the different courts.

Tope Temokun, one of the lawyers representing human rights activist and legal practitioner, Dele Farotimi, said his client did not send Peter Obi to beg octogenarian legal icon, Afe Babalola, in the alleged defamation suit involving Farotimi and Babalola.

Temokun was a guest on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

Earlier in December, the police in Ekiti State arrested Farotimi at his Lagos office and bundled him to Ekiti State for prosecution.

The police arraigned the author for publishing a book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’ where he alleged that Afe Babalola corrupted the judiciary and procured a revised judgement in the Supreme Court.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges levelled against him and has been remanded in prison for two weeks while legal fireworks continue in multiple courts. Farotimi is also facing similar charges in Abuja and Oyo state.

Temokun said he visited Farotimi in prison on Friday and the author told him that he didn’t send Obi to appeal to Babalola or explore an out-of-court settlement to the matter.

He said, “I visited Mr Dele Farotimi in a correctional service in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State yesterday afternoon.

“The events of the recent days; the visit of Mr Peter Obi, the (2023) presidential candidate of the Labour Party to Aare Afe Babalola, his visit to Mr Dele Farotimi, created some lack of clarity, people are not so clear about some things, people are not clear about what is going on. It is on the basis of this that I had to visit him yesterday, and we sat together and had a good discussion.

“After Peter Obi left Ekiti, the news that filtered the town to the issue of the conditions for release, the issue of apology, the issue of whether Mr Dele Farotimi is able to do this or that to come out.

“I told him (Farotimi): the reason why I am here is to confirm from you ‘What do you think should be done?’ The visit of Mr Peter Obi to you in person and the subsequent visit to Aare Afe Babalola, what do you know about it? What is your message to Aare Afe Babalola? What is your message to the people outside? What is also your message to me as part of your legal team?

“He (Farotimi) said if anybody who is very familiar with his antecedents, with his principles, with his philosophy overtime should join anybody to believe that in a matter where he had written a book that he had published and that had been in circulation, that if anybody, somebody who has a brain should join others to believe that he has sent anybody to beg anybody, he said he will be so disappointed in that person.

“He told me categorically that even you Tope if you join anybody to believe that I could beg anybody or that I have sent anybody to beg anybody, I will be so disappointed in you.”

Temokun said Farotimi is in high spirits and he is optimistic that he would defeat his challengers in the different courts.

I Never Sent Anyone To Afe Babalola; Those Who Went, Did So Of Their Own Accord – Dele Farotimi

Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has distanced himself from anyone seeking to mediate with legal luminary, Are Afe Babalola, on his behalf in a defamation case related to his book, "Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System."

Farotimi on Friday made it clear that he opposed any attempts to mediate or beg for his release, stating that the legal process should take its natural course.

The activist, who said this while speaking with fellow human rights lawyer, Tope Temokun, who visited him, specifically addressed reports of visits to Babalola by supporters, including former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi.

However, he warned those who visited Afe Babalola, including Peter Obi, never to visit anyone to plead for his release.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, met with Nigerian legal luminary, Afe Babalola, SAN, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Obi had pleaded with Babalola to consider the "situation" of human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, who is at the Ekiti prison.

Human rights lawyer, Temokun, told SaharaReporters on Friday that they visited Farotimi and he denied sending anyone to beg on his behalf.

Temokun stated that Farotimi was being held in prison while his opponents were filing lawsuits in Ibadan, Abuja, and Rivers, seemingly preparing for a legal battle.

He said, ironically, they were serving all the court processes on a man detained in a prison cell in Ekiti, where he could not readily defend himself.

According to Temokun, "Around 4:30pm of this day, Friday, the 13th of December, 2024, we stepped out of the Correctional Service (prison) in Afao road, Ado Ekiti, where we were with Dele Farotimi.

"He speaks calmly but with loud message. He is unambiguous about it, that all he wrote in his book is the truth. One thing is clear from this visit and hours long talk, that Dele Farotimi knows things that the crowd does not know."

Temokun explained that Farotimi declared too that while he could not control who Peter Obi would visit in Ekiti, he never sent anyone to Babalola and he had warned those who had visited him, including Peter Obi, never to visit anyone to plead for his release.

"He wants this matter to travel the natural route. He disowned in categorical terms, any move by anybody to beg anyone on his behalf or as a condition for his release," Temokun said.

"He assertively, vibrantly and untiringly posited that if he had added a single lie to his claims in his book, he would lose heavily in this battle. But if his weapon remains all truth, he will have the last laugh.

"Those who postulated that Dele Farotimi is reckless in his writings and documentations, should rather demand a fair play and a level play ground so that we could hear the other side."

Temokun said that citizens should be interested to know what he knows as proof.

"But Farotimi is kept in prison while his opponents are tooling up in law suits in Ibadan, Abuja and Rivers seeminly poised for a fight and funnily serving all these court processes on a man in his prison cell in Ekiti where he cannot readily make his defence.

Temokun noted that a question that should bother everyone is this: this book has been out for some time, so why did it take so long to file all these lawsuits? Why did they have to wait until his arrest? Why did they have to wait until his remand? Why did they have to ensure he was kept out of circulation and his voice silenced before raising these issues? Why did they wait until now? Why?"

He said, "Is this how jurisprudence works? Is this how history works? Has jurisprudence developed in this way?

"A man is held in cuffs and at the gallows, yet some of us, in defense of orthodoxy, accuse him of blasphemy instead of demanding justice for all parties involved. They are convicting and crucifying Farotimi without hearing him, even in the home city of Pilate."

"This rain rains in torrents but it shall not rain for long. It shall be temporary. Soon things will unravel. The ground will be dry again," Temokun added.

jchioma:
Dele too stubborn! Im blood must de hot if not for name you go think se na another tribe e come from. PO was probably doing the work of a peace maker considering the two people involved but trust Dele, egoat ready to die than give in.

Rilwayne001:
Obi by standard of logic isn’t even fit to be local government chairman talk of a state governor, if not for godfatherism he would never have been a governor.

Emotionally inclined man like him will do well in women ministry than at the elm of Nigeria presidency.

Sulele04:
You are such an idiot lol although I know it is not much idiocy but more of bigotism.

You use the word logic, so I am sure your same "logic" thinks a corrupt clueless old Tinubu is the perfect man for the role. I mean he isn't "emotionally inclined" he will steal public funds and tell it to your face that he is richer than a state as a result, that commensurates why ever since he got elected into office the average Nigerian economical situation has had a drastic regression.

Yep but he built "Laygurs" so yep he is perfect for the job, and Obi didn't build Anambra that is why even up till now your problem is not the one in office it is still Obi.

Dollar will enter 2000 Q1 next year, you will still come online to talk about how Obi is a fake and bow he hindered you from having just a little less miserable life.

Intentional idiot.