As Nigerians from all walks of life condemn the illegal arrest and swift remand of Human Rights lawyer Dele Farotimi by a Magistrate Court in Ekiti State on Wednesday, it was however, discovered that the distributor of the ‘offensive’ book titled “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System” Rovingheights has been suspended.
Following the arrest of Mr Farotimi by the Police who invaded his law office in Lagos on Tuesday and transported him to Ekiti State on the order of Chief Afe Babalola SAN who wrote a defamation petition on the content of the book, Nigerians flooded the website to order the book which was relatively known to read what he has written on the revered SAN.
On X, there was a flurry of activity with many people ordering and sharing the book, with many proposing to use it as a gift this Yuletide.
Meanwhile, a look at the 16-count charges against Mr Farotimi by Chief Babalola revealed that the latter also ordered the Police to retrieve the book from the publishers and distributors.
The charges partly read, “COUNT X: That you Dele Farotimi ‘m’ sometimes in 2024 authored, published and circulated your book titled: “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System which was received and read all over the world including Ado-Ekiti within the Ado-Ekiti Magisterial District wherein you criminally defamed the person of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, FCIArb in page 70-71, of the said book where you stated: “But the court as though enthralled by whatever Afe the Circus Master had Promised the Justices, acted with utmost carelessness about the integrity of the court, the interest of the citizens and the State that they had been sworn to protect.
“The conspiracy was always a step ahead of us because some of the clients mistook key members of the confederacy of friends and helpers” which statement you knew was false allegation and likely to injure the reputation of the said Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, FCIArb, LL.D by exposing him to hatred, contempt, ridicule and damage him in his profession and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 373 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under Section 375 of Criminal Code Act.
“COUNT XI: That you Dele Farotimi ‘m’ sometimes in 2024 authored, published and circulated your book titled: “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System which was received and read all over the world including Ado-Ekiti within the Ado-Ekiti Magisterial District wherein you criminally defamed the person of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, FCIArb in page 80, of the said book where you stated: “But Afe knew that he could get the Supreme Court to do whatever he wanted and to rule however he asked. Pedro knew this too, and he, being the original Lagos boy, showed Afe a bit of Lagos magic. Afe Babalola and the Eletus might have killed the buffalo but had no way of feeding from the carcass. We have turned the corrupt triumph at the Supreme Court into a Pyrrhic victory and it was at this point that Pedro craftily inserted himself into the plot” which statement you knew were false allegation and likely to injure the reputation of the said Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, FCIArb, LL.D by exposing him to hatred, contempt, ridicule and damage him in his profession and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 373 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under Section 375 of Criminal Code Act.”
