The cases filed against lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi have been promito withdrawn by Aare Afe Babalola SAN as of early Monday morning.
The police arrested the activist lawyer and charged him in two Ekiti courts after Babalola petitioned the police commissioner in Ekiti State, claiming that Farotimi had defamed him in a book called “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.”
As a result, Farotimi was put on trial for suspected criminal defamation in the Ado Ekiti District of the Ekiti State Magistrate Court and for accused cyberbullying in the Ado Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court.
However, Babalola stated that he had consented to drop the criminal prosecution, saying, “I will tell my lawyers to withdraw the case,” following the intervention of Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, and other prominent traditional leaders at the midnight meeting.
The Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, Oba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro, the Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adewole, the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Adu, the Oloye of Oye Ekiti, Oba Michael Ademolaju, and the Alaaye of Efon Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare, were also present.
Reiterating the significance of the Yoruba traditional institution and its power, Babalola added, “The monarchs are here, they have appealed to me over a criminal charge involving somebody who said I was corrupt.”
The senior counsel rejected all previous requests to have the cases removed from court because he felt terrible that Farotimi had accused him of using corruption to win all of his cases.
He mentioned former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mathew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, and Oba Adejugbe, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, as among those who had urged him to take the case out of court.
He stated, “If you go through the pamphlet (Farotimi’s book), you will find that he attacked many judges by names, he attacked Supreme Court judges, and none is bothered, but I am bothered. I am bothered because of where and how I started life, from the farm to where I am.
“There is nothing I am going to gain from his imprisonment. There is nothing I am going to gain from so-called damages. I am not in quest of more wealth, rather how to spend what I have for the benefit of others. The only time I am happy is when I give.
“The request is simple, take away this criminal case in court. When Obasanjo wrote, he came here, I said no. when Kukah phoned and came, I said no, but on this occasion, I say yes. Thank you Kabiyesis. I will speak to my lawyers to withdraw it.”
Speaking for Yoruba monarchs, the Ooni had asked Babalola to drop the legal battle, telling him that “nobody can tarnish your name, your name is more than silver and gold and you have stood for your name with the message that nobody can joke with your name.”
Ogunwusi, who recognized Babalola’s contributions to Yoruba, Nigeria, and the world’s development, said, “We (monarchs) came here to discuss the matter with him, and he gave full respect to the obas and agreed.
“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.”
In addition, Ooni said,, “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 own way, we have done the needful.”