Activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has revealed that he is still facing four separate lawsuits across different states, all filed by members of the Aare Afe Babalola law office.
Speaking on Sunday during the Toyin Falola Interviews, Farotimi disclosed that despite the withdrawal of criminal charges against him, civil cases related to the matter remain active.
His statement follows the decision of Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, the founder of Afe Babalola University, to withdraw cases previously filed against him. On January 27, 2025, Babalola agreed to drop the lawsuits after the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other senior traditional rulers.
READ ALSO: Afe Babalola Drops Lawsuits Against Farotimi Following Ooni and Monarchs’ Mediation
Farotimi had been arrested and arraigned in two separate courts in Ekiti State following a petition from Babalola, which accused him of defamation in his book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System. As a result, he faced charges of alleged criminal defamation before the Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court in Ado Ekiti and alleged cyberbullying before the Federal High Court in Ado Ekiti.
Although the police dropped the criminal charges after Babalola’s withdrawal, Farotimi revealed that civil suits remain ongoing. “My inability to speak to certain aspects of this issue is borne out of the fact that, despite the discontinuation of the criminal proceedings, 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.
He further defended his book, insisting it was not based on baseless accusations but on thorough research and personal observations about Nigeria’s judicial system. “I did not sit down in a beer parlour; I was not at an officers’ mess; I was not gossiping. It was not idle, cheap talk. I wrote a book,” he declared. “Let us deal with veracity. Anybody can go and read it and then come back and challenge me with the lie that I have told.”
