Police arrest Dele Farotimi over Afe Babalola’s alleged defamation petition

The police on Tuesday arrested a lawyer and political activist, Dele Farotimi, over a defamation petition by senior lawyer Afe Babalola.

Peoples Gazette understands that Mr Farotimi, whose fierce advocacy for citizens’ rights often pits him against the society’s powerful, was arrested in Lagos on Tuesday morning. 

He was promptly transported to Ekiti, where Mr Babalola wields untrammeled influence as the largest private employer and businessman. 

Mr Babalola did not immediately return a request seeking comments about Mr Farotimi’s arrest, which reportedly followed alleged defamatory statements by the activist. 

Hours before his arrest, Mr Farotimi said in a statement online that he was being sought by the police on a warrant from Mr Babalola, and another separate complaint from Tony Elumelu of United Bank of Africa. 

The petition from Mr Elumelu was not acted upon, a spokesperson said in a message to The Gazette, and the whisking of Mr Farotimi to Ekiti all but confirmed the police were prioritising the senior lawyer’s petition, a copy of which the police have yet to make available to The Gazette despite an initial request and a follow up. 

Mr Farotimi’s arrest has elicited a flurry of criticism from fellow rights activists, including Deji Adeyanju and Inibehe Effiong, who expressed steep disappointment over police’s continued use of force to handle defamation complaints.  

The Nigerian Constitution guaranteed fundamental rights to speech and a 2015 law that allowed criminal punishment for so-called cyberstalking, a catch-all for police crackdown on free speech, was repealed in 2023. 

 Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify that the police were acting on the petition from Mr Babalola in arresting Mr Farotimi. Not the petition from Mr Elumelu.