A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, barred human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, from further publishing, selling, circulating, advertising, or distributing the hard or soft copies of his book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.’
Similarly, Justice M. A. Adegbola of an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan on the same date granted an interim order restraining human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, his publishers and their re-publishers from further publication and sale of the book.
The book allegedly contains libelous content against the Founder of Afe Babalola University in Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN).
Farotimi was arrested last week by the Nigeria Police in Lagos and whisked to Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State for alleged defamation and cyber bullying preferred against him by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and was separately arraigned before the Federal High Court in Ekiti State as well as an Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court, Ado-Ekiti.
The Oyo court order named the publishers and their re-publishers of the “inciting” boos, including Amazon Online Bookstore, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore, and Patabah Books Limited, from further selling the book.
It also ordered that the publication, whether in hard or soft copy, should be stopped from further publication and sale through any mainstream or social media platform or any other means whatsoever, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.
Mr. Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN) instituted a suit – Adebayo Adenipekun versus Dele Farotimi & Anor – at the Oyo State High Court on Monday.
The court adjourned the motion on notice for the interlocutory injunction till January 7, next year.
Similarly, n Wednesday, Justice Peter Kekemeke in Abuja heard an ex parte application filed by the Managing Partner at Afe Babalola’s law firm, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), praying for the seizure of the controversial book.
In granting Ogunwumiju’s prayers, the judge barred “the agents, publishers, distributors, sellers, re-publishers, re-sellers, or any other person from further publishing, selling, circulating, advertising, or distributing the physical/hard/digital/soft copies of the book online, electronically, physically or by any other means, including the social media.”
The judge also granted an order of interim injunction “directing the seizure of all physical copies of the book, wherever they may be found by the Nigeria Police Force, the State Security Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and all other security agencies.”
The order was granted pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction dated and filed on December 6, 2024.
The court also ordered that relevant security agencies should file an affidavit demonstrating compliance with the orders within 72 hours of their receipt of the ruling.
Operatives of the Nigerian Police reportedly arrested Farotimi on December 2 as criticisms continued to trail the style of his arrest.
He was picked up by the police in Lagos and transported to Ekiti State, where he appeared before a magistrate’s court on Wednesday, December 4.
The Chief Magistrates’ Court in the Ado Ekiti Division, on Wednesday, ordered his remand in the state’s correctional centre.
Farotimi was arraigned over alleged defamation of character following the allegation in his book that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Afe Babalola, had compromised the Supreme Court.
