Rita Odafe
Dele Farotimi
Dele Farotimi, a well-known Nigerian lawyer and writer, has requested the Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought against him by prominent legal figure Afe Babalola, who is also the founder of Afe Babalola University.
This request for dismissal comes just before the scheduled hearing, set for tomorrow.
Submitted on December 9, 2024, the request was made through his legal representative, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, who leads a team of 19 lawyers.
The preliminary objection cites several legal provisions, including Section 36(8) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, various sections of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, and relevant articles of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law and Magistrates Courts Law.
Farotimi presents five main arguments in his objection, asserting that the case before the magistrate lacks legal standing and that the charges are invalid, indicating that the magistrate had no authority on such an ineffective charge.
The key assertions in his application are:
(1) The 16-count charge involves alleged offenses defined in the “Criminal Code Act.”
(2) The Criminal Code Act applies in Ekiti State as the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti, 2012.
(3) Cap. C16 has been explicitly revoked by Section 429(a) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
(4) The accusations of defamation against Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, and his associates, as detailed in the charges, do not exist in the 2021 Criminal Law of Ekiti State.
(5) Consequently, the magistrate exceeded his jurisdiction by permitting the arraignment and issuing detention orders based on these erroneous charges.
Alongside Senior Advocate Olumide-Fusika, Farotimi’s defense team includes three additional senior advocates: Festus Emiri, Bamidele Ibironke, and Segun Ololade, plus 16 other legal professionals.
