Despite the withdrawal of criminal charges against him, human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi says he is still weighing his legal options over his 21-day incarceration.
Speaking on The Duke Rants podcast, Farotimi was asked what he would say if he met Chief Afe Babalola.
“Like a good Yoruba boy, I’ll give him his salutations. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m still considering my options as regards what to do about what I went through,” he said.
When pressed on his next steps, he responded, “Oh, all the areas of options that are open to a person who was unlawfully kidnapped from his office, hauled before a magistrate for a non-existent crime.”
Farotimi criticized the irregularities in his arrest, stating, “Policemen crossed five state lines, entered a sixth state—from Ekiti to Ondo, to Osun, to Oyo, to Ogun, and then crossed into Lagos. Somebody has to explain the basis of my incarceration for 21 days.”
Earlier in February, he revealed that, despite Babalola withdrawing his petition, he still faced lawsuits in four states filed by members of Babalola’s law office.
“My inability to speak to certain aspects of this issue is borne out of the fact that, despite the discontinuation of the criminal proceeding, I still have four suits that I am aware of, in four different states of the federation, filed by members of the same law office, against my person,” he said.
Farotimi’s legal troubles began after Babalola accused him of defamation over statements in his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System. He was arraigned in Ekiti for alleged criminal defamation and cyber-bullying.
On January 27, Babalola withdrew the cases after interventions by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other traditional rulers.
