Human Rights Attorney Dele Farotimi Granted Bail Amid Defamation Charges

 Human rights attorney Dele Farotimi has been granted N30 million bail by a Chief Magistrate's Court in Ado Ekiti.

The attorney was arrested earlier this month for allegedly disparaging Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the founder of Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti (ABUAD).

Despite a strong security presence, Farotimi, who had been remanded in a detention facility in the Ekiti State capital, arrived at the Magistrate Court grounds at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Friday.

A widely shared video clip shows that the attorney was driven to the court in a prison van accompanied by a police officer. Upon alighting from the vehicle, he raised his hands in gratitude to the applauding audience outside the court.

At the most recent hearing, Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun ordered the activist to be held in prison and deferred the decision on his bail application until today, December 20.

Farotimi entered a not-guilty plea to the 14-count indictment brought against him by the Ekiti State Police. His attorney, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, has submitted a preliminary objection, requesting that the case be dropped.

Olumide-Fusika argued that the indictment against Farotimi was unprecedented and that the Ekiti State Criminal Law of 2021 does not recognize defamation as a crime.