[ICYMI] How Dele Farotimi defamed me – Afe Babalola
In a recently released book, lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi is accused of defaming Aare Afe Babalola, the renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of Afe Babalola University.
The charge is based on a ruling by the Supreme Court in a land dispute that lasted more than 20 years.
Babalola explained how his legal firm came into Farotimi's book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, and its defamatory contents in a November 19 petition sent to Adeniran Akinwale, the Commissioner of Police for Ekiti State.
"In reference to Suit no: SC/146/2005: Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors V. H.R.H Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors, I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law firm Afe Babalola & Co, and my lawyers in person of Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro in his book titled 'NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM' published by Dele Farotimi publishers," the petition stated.
He asserted that the book included a number of disparaging remarks that called into doubt his moral character and charged his legal profession with unethical activities, such as tainting the legal system.
"Sometime on 2/11/2024, while passing through Murtala Muhammed Airport, one of our lawyers purchased a book by Dele Farotimi titled 'NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM,' published by Dele Farotimi publishers," he said. After reading the aforementioned book, he promptly alerted me to it. Many of my solicitors purchased and read the aforementioned book as well.
"He was accused of corrupting the Supreme Court from ages past and had led it to commit the most egregious acts of evil and wanting injustice," Babalola said of the book.
"The aforementioned defamatory statements are detailed below," the petition stated.
See page IX for the claim that Aare Afe Babalola bribed the Supreme Court to secure a false ruling on behalf of his client.
"That Olu Daramola, Aare Afe Babalola, Olu Faro and the law offices of Afe Babalola & Co, (Emmanuel Chambers) compromised the Supreme Court and the remaining semblance of integrity it might have had when they went back to the Supreme Court and got the Court to swim in the sewer of corruption and shameful self-Abnegation”. See page X
“That Afe Babalola libeled me and the fact of the libel became known to me in a suit against Lawal Pedro SAN”. See page X.
“That I sued Afe Babalola SAN for libel and he leveraged his influence in the Judiciary to deny me justice”. See page X.”
Giving a background of the case, the petition stated that the case concerned 254 hectares of land in Lagos, which the Supreme Court awarded to his client in 2013.
He further alleged that Farotimi’s comments in the book suggested that he and his law firm compromised the judiciary, tarnishing the integrity of the apex court.
According to the petition, Farotimi’s statements, which were also highlighted in media interviews and widely circulated online, were designed to damage his reputation, discredit his law firm, and cause clients to lose trust in his professional ethics.
“All these statements are false and incorrect written deliberately to destroy my reputation. Dele Farotimi referred to me severally in his book as the Doyen of the legal profession,” Babalola said.
The petition claims that the Supreme Court's July 13, 2013, ruling in favour of Babalola's client, the Gbadamosi Eletu family, was the catalyst for the controversy.
The Ojomu family, who had sold the land to Babalola's client decades prior, eventually protested the land that the Lagos State Government had purchased.
Babalola's legal team was successful in proving that the Ojomu family's attempt to regain the land after it was sold was an act of bad faith.
NICON Estate, Pinnock Estate, and other estates impacted by the decision, however, filed lawsuits in response to the judgement.
According to Babalola, Farotimi, who was the attorney for one of these estates, attacked the ruling in his book and charged Babalola with acting unethically.
Farotimi was placed under remand in jail custody on Wednesday by a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti following his arrest on a 16-count charge of criminal defamation.
He was apprehended by officers of the Ekiti police command in Lagos and transported to Ekiti for arraignment.
Babalola has called for an urgent investigation into Farotimi’s claims, the recovery of all copies of the book, and a halt to its further distribution.
He also urged authorities to address what he described as Farotimi’s admitted “disregard for the rule of law.”
Babalola, who described himself as a pillar of the Nigerian legal profession, emphasised his six-decade-long career marked by integrity, discipline, and professionalism.
Read full text below:
The Commissioner of Police,
Ado-Ekiti,
Ekiti State.
Dear Sir,
CRIMINAL DEFAMATION OF AARE AFE BABALOLA, AFE BABALOLA & CO AND HER LAWYERS BY DELE FAROTIMI
I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law firm Afe Babalola & Co and my lawyers in person of Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro by one Dele Farotimi in his book titled ‘NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM’ published by Dele Farotimi publishers in respect of Suit no: SC/146/2005: Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors V. H.R.H Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
SUIT NO: SC/146/2005: MAJOR MURITALA GBADAMOSI ELETU & ORS V. H.R.H OBA TIJANI AKINLOYE & ORS (2013) 15 NWLR PART 1378
We were solicitors to the Gbadamosi Eletu family in the case of Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors V. H.R.H Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
The Appellants lost the case at the High Court and the Court of Appeal before briefing my law firm to represent them at the Supreme Court.
The Appellant in this suit were Defendants at the High Court. The subject matter of the suit was 254 hectares of land at Osapa Eti-Osa Local Government Lagos sold to the late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu in 1977 by the Ojomu family. The said parcel of land was later acquired by Lagos State Government after it was sold to the Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu by the Ojomu family.
The Ojomu family contested the acquisition against Lagos State Government in Suit No: ID/1883/89 wherein the court set aside the acquisition by the Lagos State Government. The Ojomu family then instituted the suit at the High Court of Lagos State claiming that title to the land had reverted to the Ojomu family despite the earlier sale of the land to late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu.
We represented the Eletu family and Judgement was delivered by the Supreme Court on 13/7/2013 in favour of the Eletu family wherein the Supreme Court held that: “Where a party has fully divested himself of all interest in land, no right vests in him to deal with the same property by way of further alienation anymore. He is caught by the maxim, nemo dat quod non habet; that is, he cannot give that which he no longer has. In the instant case, it was unfortunate that the respondents claimed title to the whole of their family land compulsorily acquired by the Lagos State Government including the portion earlier sold to the father of the appellants and in which they were in effective possession. The claim so made without disclosing the truth and excluding the said portion so sold was clearly made in bad faith and smacked of insincerity. It was very unconscionable and consequently against the principles of equity and good conscience”.
The Supreme Court also held that: “A court of law should not allow itself to be used as an engine for the perpetration of fraud, in whatever guise”.
A copy of the judgment is hereby attached as annexure 1.
VARIATION OF JUDGEMENT
Honourable Justice Kumai Bayang AKA’ AHS JSC wrote the lead judgement. His Lordship erroneously limited the land of the Appellants to 10 hectares (24.17 acres) in respect to Suit no: M/779/93 whose subject matter was part of the 254 hectares owned by the Eletu family.
We immediately filed a motion for variation of the judgement of the Supreme Court pursuant to Order 8 Rule 16 of the Rules of Court. The said motion was heard and ruling delivered on 18/3/2014 granting statutory right of occupancy to the Appellants in respect to the entire 254 hectares sold to late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu by the Respondents.
A copy of the ruling is hereby attached as annexure 2.
ENFORCEMENT
Upon the delivery of the Judgement, our client surreptitiously employed the services of S.B Joseph & Co to enforce the judgement before we applied for variation of the judgement with the intention of not paying our professional fees.
The judgement was however varied on 18/3/2014 as earlier stated.
NEW SUIT BY ESTATES/PERSONS AFFECTED BY THE JUDGEMENT
Several residential estates were affected by the judgement of the Supreme Court among which were Pinnock Estate, Beach Resort, NICON Estate, Friends’ Colony Estate and Victory Park Estate etc. Dele Farotimi was lawyer to one of the Estates.
The affected estates and individuals immediately filed fresh suits against the Eletu family with the purpose of frustrating the judgement of the Supreme Court.
The Eletu family were lured by the affected estates to settle some of the suits behind our law firm despite being counsel on record by filing terms of settlement with the aim of denying us our professional fees. This was admitted by Dele Farotimi in page 73 of
