The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee has rejected the request to disbar human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, over the allegation that he criminally defamed legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Aare Afe Babalola.
The LPDC said it had no jurisdiction to adjudicate on the petition filed against Farotimi by one Mr. Ola Faro, a lawyer in Afe Babalola’s law firm.
Faro’s request came on the back of Afe Babalola’s legal battle against Farotimi over allegations of criminal defamation.
In a petition to the police, Babalola complained that Farotimi defamed him through a book he published, titled, “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.”
Based on Babalola’s complaints, the police have arraigned Farotimi twice, first before the magistrates’ court in Ado-Ekiti and then before the Federal High Court in Ekiti.
The activist lawyer pleaded not guilty to the charges on the two occasions and he was granted bail.
He perfected the second bail granted him by the magistrates’ court on Tuesday and regained his freedom after being detained since December 4.
In the petition filed before the LPDC, Faro, an associate in Afe Babalola’s law firm, explained that Farotimi, in his book, referenced Suit No. SC/146/2006, between Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu and HRH Oba Tijani Akinloye and others, claiming corruption, bribery, and other unethical practices involving judicial officers and the legal community.
The petition accused Farotimi of distorting case facts, disrespecting fellow lawyers, and engaging in actions that obstructed justice for personal gains.
Specific grievances included references to a Supreme Court judgment that affected multiple residential estates and subsequent legal proceedings allegedly undermining the Supreme Court’s decision.
The petitioner alleged that Farotimi’s book violated several sections of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2023 and requested that his name be struck off the Roll of Legal Practitioners.
But the LPDC Chairman, Justice Isaq Bello, on Tuesday in Abuja, stated that the petitioner’s request could not be granted due to jurisdictional limitations.
In its report, tagged B8B/LPDC/1571/2024), the LPDC ruled that the alleged offences occurred in Farotimi’s capacity as an author, not during his practice as a legal professional.
The LPDC concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to address complaints about publications and advised aggrieved parties to seek redress in regular courts.
“The publication is an intellectual property and not a conduct or action committed while practising as a legal practitioner. All aggrieved parties who find the publication ‘defamatory’ should ventilate their grievances through the regular courts,” the disciplinary committee stated.
Meanwhile, Farotimi regained freedom from the prison on Tuesday after being detained for about three weeks.
He had earlier been granted N30m bail by the magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti.
In a video clip sighted by The TheNigerian, the activist was seen thanking his allies and friends for standing by him.
He also maintained that what he wrote in his controversial book was the truth.
“It is not ever an easy journey when you are fighting evil, but some years back, before I started this work, God told me that the truth is enough. It is the only weapon with which you can slay the monster called Nigeria, which is the truth. In my war against the evil empire that we all lived in, I have never lied against anyone. If I don’t know, I will say I don’t know,” he said.
