Human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi has been released from the Ado-Ekiti custodial center, where he had been detained for weeks over an alleged defamation case.
Farotimi’s release on Tuesday morning follows his successful completion of the bail process.
The lawyer had been arrested following a defamation claim made by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN).
Despite being granted bail on multiple occasions, Farotimi remained incarcerated until now.
Farotimi was granted bail on December 9, 2024, by Justice Babs O. Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, in connection with cybercrime charges filed by the Nigeria Police.
However, his release had been delayed by bureaucratic challenges involving the verification of surety documents from banks and government agencies.
The verification process was completed last Friday, but further delays were caused as the judge had not yet signed off on the required documents, preventing the prison authorities from releasing him.
In addition, the Ekiti Magistrate Court, which also granted bail on December 20, 2024, had not completed all necessary formalities before the presiding magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, departed the court, further postponing Farotimi’s release.
Farotimi is facing charges in two courts related to an alleged defamation of Afe Babalola.
The Federal High Court granted him bail of N50 million, with one surety, on the cybercrime charges.
This decision came after the Inspector-General of Police filed a 12-count charge against him.
The magistrate court in Ekiti granted a separate bail of N30 million on December 20, 2024, with two sureties required, and Farotimi was also instructed to surrender his passport.
Furthermore, he was barred from granting media interviews.
