Dele Farotimi, a prominent legal practitioner, has filed a preliminary objection asking the Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court to dismiss the defamation charges brought against him.
The objection, filed ahead of the court’s scheduled hearing on Tuesday, seeks to challenge the validity of the charges.
Farotimi’s legal representative, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), filed the suit on his behalf, along with 19 other individuals.
In the five grounds of objection, Farotimi argues that the charges are legally invalid, non-existent, and beyond the jurisdiction of the court.
One of the key points raised in the objection is that the 16-count charge refers to offenses under the “Criminal Code Act,” a law that is no longer applicable in Ekiti State.
Farotimi noted that the Criminal Code Act was replaced by the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021, which explicitly repealed the previous law.
Farotimi’s defense emphasizes that the alleged crime of defamation—targeting Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, and his law firm, Afe Babalola & Co.—is not recognized in the new Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021, rendering the charges invalid.
Furthermore, the objection asserts that the magistrate acted without jurisdiction in allowing the charges to be presented and in ordering Farotimi’s detention based on the flawed charges.
Farotimi’s legal troubles stem from his recent publication, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, in which he allegedly defamed Afe Babalola by accusing him of corruption in a land dispute case.
Following the book’s release, Farotimi was arrested and charged with 16 counts of criminal defamation.
