Peter Obi, a former Labour Party presidential candidate and ex-governor of Anambra State, has intervened in the legal troubles of Dele Farotimi, a Nigerian human rights lawyer fondly referred to by his supporters as “The Prophet.”
Farotimi is in police custody in Ekiti, facing charges of Cybercrimes and defamation (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act 2015, based on a petition against him by prominent lawyer Afe Babalola.
Babalola said Farotimi defamed him in his bestselling book “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System“.
Obi travelled to Ado-Ekiti on Monday to meet with Mr. Babalola to discuss the situation. During their meeting, Obi reportedly asked Babalola to reconsider his stance on Farotimi. He then visited Farotimi in prison in a show of solidarity.
Farotimi is one of Obi’s ardent political supporters. In 2023, he worked for Obi’s presidential campaign council and was a member of his legal team, which challenged the election results in court.
On the same day, the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti granted Farotimi ₦50 million bail. His surety must be a person holding a property of like sum.
The court case was initiated by the Inspector-General of Police. Justice Babs O. Kuewumi is the trial judge.
The case has been adjourned to January 29, 2025.
Police filed additional charges against Farotimi just days prior.
Obi Draws Rebuke
However, not everyone is happy with Obi’s peace-making intervention.
Another activist, Omoyele Sowore, who had characterized Farotimi’s ordeal as “colossal injustice“, wondered what Obi was pleading with Babalola for.
Sowore suggested that Obi’s appeal to Babalola is emboldening the ruling elite to continue suppressing the voices of dissent and social justice. He argued that “begging” had led the system, and rather than unconditionally grant Farotimi bail, strident conditions were being attached. “See what begging has done,” Sowore tweeted.
He likened Obi’s reconciliatory intervention to forcing Rosa Park to go and sit at the back of the bus during the American civil rights movement in order not to rattle the unjust white discriminatory system of the time.
The activist argued that such actions undermine the fight against systemic judicial corruption in Nigeria.
Sowore and some civil society groups plan a mega protest at home and abroad to demand Mr Farotimi’s unconditional release.
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