Defamation: Dele Farotimi granted N50m Bail.

On Monday, Judge Babs Olaniyi Kuewumi decreed that the surety is to present evidence of tax clearance for two years and a bank’s letter of consent.

Clad in a pink shirt, Farotimi was led into the courtroom in handcuffs, under police escort.

The trial has been postponed by the judge to January 29, 2025.

Previously, on Friday, the inspector-general of police lodged a 12-count accusation against Farotimi, charging him with cybercrime. These charges are based on the accusation that Farotimi disseminated false information about Afe Babalola, a distinguished senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in an online interview.

One of the charges reads:

“That you Dele Farotimi ‘m’ on 28th August 2024 knowingly and intentionally transmitted communication in an online interview on Mic On Podcast by Seun Okinbaloye on your YouTube Channel (http://youtube.com/watch?v=4USuxB…) in respect of a book authored and published by you titled: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’ wherein you stated in the interview that: ‘Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the judiciary’ which you know to be false information for the purpose of causing the breakdown of law and order thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 24(1) (b) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 as amended.”

Officers from the Ekiti State Police Command arrested Farotimi in Lagos last Tuesday following allegations of defamation and cyberbullying. The arrest was based on a petition by Babalola. Subsequently, Farotimi faced arraignment at a magistrate court in Ekiti on a 16-count charge of defamation, where the court decreed his detention in prison until the bail hearing scheduled for December 10. The legal proceedings involving Farotimi have sparked widespread discussion, highlighting concerns over freedom of speech, the enforcement of defamation legislation, and the use of the Cybercrimes Act within Nigeria.