The Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Friday, granted bail to the human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi over the alleged defamation suit filed against him.
Farotimi was arraigned by the Ekiti State Police Command after a petition from a legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), accusing him of defamation in his recently released book.
The police had accused Farotimi of “criminally defaming” Afe Babalola in his book titled: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.
The Chief Magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, also ordered Farotimi to provide two sureties with one of them a house owner in Ado-Ekiti, saying that Farotimi must submit his international passport with the court.
The court further directed Farotimi to refrain from granting media interviews both in the electronic or print media, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Farotimi, who has been remanded in a correctional centre in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital for over two weeks, arrived at the Magistrate Court premises at about 9:45 am on Friday.
The case has been adjourned till February 13, 2025.
