The Magistrate court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has denied bail to human rights activist and good governance advocate, Dele Farotimi.
Farotimi was arraigned in court for allegedly defamation of the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola.
Farotimi had arrived at the court premises on Tuesday in a police security van in the company of Correctional Centre officials a few minutes before 10:00 am.
The counsels to the defendant as well as the plaintiff had been in the court awaiting the Farotimi’s arrival.
In his ruling, at the resumed sitting on Tuesday, the Presiding Magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, adjourned the application of bail to December 20 after the counsel to the police, Samson Osobu, convinced the court that the bail application submitted by the defendant was incompetent and irregular.
Farotimi, who was arrested in Lagos last Tuesday by operatives of the Ekiti State Police Command, is facing a 16-count charge of defamation stemming from allegations that he maligned Babalola’s reputation in his recently published book titled Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
Aare Afe Babalola had considered aspects of the 104-page book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice’ authored by Farotimi, as defaming him and petitioned the Police to take action.
