By Newsmata
Relief may have come to fiery lawyer and rights activist, Dele Farotimi who had been entangled in a web of law suits with enigmatic Aare Afe Babalola, a legal giant and founder of Aare Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) and some of his associates for alleged criminal defamation and cyber-bullying as the latter has bowed to pressure to drop the charges against him
Aare Babalola on Monday declared that he had forgiven Farotimi and would drop the charges for which he had been standing trial following a last-ditch intervention by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja the 11, leading nine other prominent traditional rulers.
Newsmata recalls that Farotimi’s travails began on December 3, 2024, when he was arrested by the police following a petition by the nonagenarian senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in which he complained of cyberbullying and defamation said to be contained in his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, which allegedly exposed questionable practices in the judiciary and strongly indicted Babalola.
Farotimi was driven all the way to Ado-Ekiti from his home in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, where he spent 21 days in detention. He was arraigned in two courts, one, before an Ekiti Magistrate Court where he was charged with criminal defamation, and for cyber-bullying at the Ado-Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court.
While the case at the magistrate court was adjourned to February 13, the one at the Federal High Courts comes up Wednesday January 29.
However, these cases are expected to be withdrawn, Afe Babalola, having agreed to drop the charges following the midnight meeting with him by the mediating royal fathers.
The monarchs who joined the Ooni included: the Ewi of Ado, Oba Rufus Adejugbe Aladesanmi III; Ajero of Ijero, Oba Adewole Joseph Adebayo; the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Samuel Adejinmi Adu; Alaaye of Efon Alaaye, Oba Dr. Emmanuel Aladejare Agunsoye II; and the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti who doubles as Chairman, Ekiti Council Of Traditional Rulers, Oba Ilori Faboro.
Babalola who said he had no choice but to defer to the royal fathers, disclosed how he had turned down the pleas by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and others. He said he did not hesitate to accept their request because he grew up as a child to understand such interventions by the traditional rulers.
Declaring that he had not only forgiven Dele Farotimi but also would instruct his lawyers to withdraw the criminal charges against him with immediate effect, because of the honour for the Ooni and the other Obas.
According to Aare Babalola, “Today is a very important day for me. I’m a Yoruba man and I’m very proud to be one. Ewi of Ado has come here to meet me on this matter, former President Obasanjo has intervened, same with Bishop Matthew Kukah and a host of other prominent Nigerians to ask for the exact thing you have come to ask for this evening. My answer to them had been, “NO”, but today, my answer is “YES”.
“Your coming is unquantifiable in terms of money. Who am I? When the colonialists came here in the 17th century or thereabouts, they found as a fact that Yoruba land was a highly organised society with an advanced system of government with each town headed by an Oba who was regarded as a replica of God on earth. His words were commands”.
Apparently hurt by the corruption allegation against him, the elder statesman said “I was a lawyer who defended the EFCC law, yet I’m corrupt. I was given an oil block, when I looked at the money and saw that it was too much, I rejected it, yet I’m corrupt. I was offered ministerial appointments twice, I rejected it, yet I’m corrupt because whatever I am, I don’t want anybody to say I made it through corruption.
“Look at my books; I’m Chairman, Transparency International based in Germany. I have given lectures against corruption with my papers in many universities globally. For someone to allege me that I have won my cases through corruption, it’s an attempt to defame me, that was why I rejected all appeals earlier made to me. But when I heard that Ooni was coming, I knew I’m in a fix today. “Nkan de o”.
“There is nothing I’m going to gain from his (Dele) imprisonment and there’s nothing I want from the so-called damages. I am not in quest of more wealth; I’m rather concerned on managing the one I have already. Dele Farotimi is hereby forgiven. On this occasion, I say “YES”.
Briefing journalists about the outcome of the meeting with Aare Babalola, the Ooni said that having watched the scenarios surrounding the criminal case instituted against Dele Farotimi with rapt attention, it became very imperative to apply Alternative Dispute Resolution method which Yoruba race was known for in the past because it’s a case between father and son.
According to him, “We have come today to appeal to Aare Babalola to forgive his son, Dele Farotimi, and what we want from him is to withdraw the criminal charges against Farotimi today.
“Aare Afe Babalola, you are an elder statesman; you have seen it all, you are one of the iconic voices in this country, a great man per excellence. You are a rare breed who has excelled in everything you have touched in this life, a very God-fearing elder statesman.
“Above all, you are one of the proponents of the Yoruba ethos of Omoluwabi which has been your strongest value that you hold in our country. This is what we are using to bring down the tempo in what has happened between you and your son, Dele Farotimi. We have been very proud of you as a great Yoruba elder statesman. You have done great things for this race and Nigeria, such that your name can never be forgotten.
“We’ve all come together as traditional rulers to discuss with you on this issue and this gentleman, Dele Farotimi, is your son, and you must forgive him and withdraw the criminal charges against him. As a father, you have soft sons, and you have tough sons; Dele Farotimi is a tough son of yours. You have indeed made a point that your name can not be messed with.
“We, the obas, can attest to the hard work of Aare Afe Babalola and how he has invested so hard to build his name. The name cannot be tarnished or rubbished by anyone. Aare Afe Babalola has proven to the world that he cherishes his name, and the world has heard him clearly.
“Baba, we want to appeal and also use our race to instruct you. Dele Farotimi is your son, you may not know him. We give birth to different children in this world, some are tough, some are soft, some are hard. Why we are here is our ethos as a race.”
“We are using our race because some of our elders in Yorubaland and even beyond Yorubaland have spoken, but combining forces with the traditional institution, we have heard you, enough, enough and enough. Your name is intact. We have resolved the matter in our way, we have done the needful”.