Why Dele Farotimi Accused Me Of Corrupting Supreme Court – Babalola

Elder statesman and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Aare Afe Babalola, has said the allegations that he corrupted the judiciary by detained Lagos lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi was borne out of malice.

Babalola said Farotimi levelled the allegation against him after he failed to get justice for his client at the Supreme Court in a land case involving his chamber.

Babalola, however, has said Dele Farotimi, will be freed from prison if he can prove his allegations that he corrupted the judiciary in a book.

The Senior lawyer who is also the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) said this while addressing journalist on Friday.

Afe Babalola was represented at the press briefing by the head of his legal team, Owoseni Ajayi, urged Nigerians to seek the truth before throwing their weight behind Farotimi.

Fresh troubles for Farotimi

Babalola spoke as information emerged that the Nigeria Police Force has filed 12 additional charges against Farotimi under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.

The new charges were filed at the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State on Friday.

In the new charges, police accused Farotimi of spreading false information during an online interview on August 28, 2024, with claim that Afe Babalola “corrupted the judiciary.”

Police said the statements were made with the aim of causing public unrest and bullying or harassing the senior lawyer.

Farotimi was also accused of making defamatory remarks during a podcast interview with journalist Seun Okinbaloye, based on content of his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.

According to the police, the allegations by Farotimi were aimed at intimidating and maligning Afe Babalola.

Farotimi was arrested in Lagos last Tuesday and taken to Ekiti where he was arraigned on charges bordering on criminal libel by the police before a Magistrates Court the next day.

He pleaded not guilty to all of the 16 counts levelled against him.

However, the court remanded him in custody and adjourned the case till December 10, 2024.

There have been calls for release of Farotimi by a cross section of Nigerians, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)

However, in the press conference held at the Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Owoseni Ajayi asserted that the defamatory remarks made by Farotimi in his book were meant to injure the reputation of the legal luminary.

According to him, the injury to the reputation cannot be remedied by any award of damages.

Farotimi’s problems with Babalola

Owoseni traced the root of the dispute between Babalola and Farotimi to 2014 when the latter won a land dispute case in which the human rights activist was neither a party nor a counsel.

He noted that as lawyer to one of the parties, Babalola had filed a motion for the variation of the judgment of the Supreme Court to correct clerical errors in judgment of a land matter which involved estates where Farotimi was retained as a lawyer.

Owoseni said Farotimi was angry because he could not get judgement for his client in court in the land matter.

Giving insight into the case, he said: “The Ojomu family sold 254 hectares of land at Osapa Eti-Osa Local Government Lagos to the late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu in 1977. The said parcel of land was subsequently acquired by Lagos State Government in 1989.

“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.

“The Gbadamosi Eletu family lost the case at the High Court and the Court of Appeal before briefing Aare Afe’s Chambers to represent them at the Supreme Court.

“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.

“A court of law should not allow itself to be used as an engine for the perpetration of fraud, in whatever guise.

“By this judgement, the Supreme Court recognised the sale of land to the Gbadamosi Eletu family.

“You will recall that 254 hectares were sold to the Gbadamosi Eletu family.

“However, instead of the 254 hectares, Honourable Justice Kumai Bayang AKA’ AHS JSC, who wrote the lead judgement, recorded 10 hectares in error.

“Upon the delivery of the judgement, the Gbadamosi Eletu family surreptitiously employed the services of SB Joseph & Co to enforce the judgement before Afe Babalola Chambers applied for variation of the judgement.

“This was presumed to be because the Gbadamosi Eletu family wanted to avoid paying Aare Afe Babalola’s chambers its professional fees.

“However, in 2014, the Gbadamosi Eletu family came back to Aare Afe Babalola’s Chambers.

“Immediately, lawyers from Aare Afe Babalola’s chambers filed a motion for variation of the judgement of the Supreme Court pursuant to Order 8 Rule 16 of the Rules of the Supreme Court, which allows application to be brought to correct clerical errors.

“The said motion was heard and ruling delivered on 18/3/2014 granting statutory right of occupancy to the Gbadamosi Eletu family in respect to the entire 254 hectares sold to late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu by the Ojomu family.

“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. Mr. Dele Farotimi was a lawyer to one of these 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 was lured by the affected estates to settle some of the suits behind Afe Babalola’s chambers despite being counsel on record.

“They filed terms of settlement with court without the knowing of Afe Babalola’s chambers.

“The Lagos State Government issued a publication indicating their awareness of the Supreme Court judgement and the need for the State to intervene in order to maintain public peace and order.

“The Lagos State Government invited the Eletu Family and a compromise was reached so as to avoid a massive dislocation of persons and communities directly affected by the judgement.

“Once Mr. Dele Farotimi can show proof that his assertions in the book are true, then he will be free. Until then, the law allows free speech, but not one that is calculated to injure the good reputation of another.

“All facts are verifiable. I urge Nigerians to verify and find out what the truth is first before picking a side”.

He also insisted that Farotimi’s offence against Babalola is punishable under Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act.