…’I’ve never lied against anyone’
….As LPDC declines request to debar him
IBRAHIM QUADRI with agency reports
The embattled human rights activist, Mr Dele Farotimi has regained his freedom after meeting his bail conditions.
Disclosing this, activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, said Farotimi is returning to his home in Lagos.
Posting on X, Sowore said the embattled lawyer was no longer at the prison yards in Ekiti State.
He wrote: “I am pleased to report that Dele Farotimi is no longer being held at the prison yards in Ekiti state and is now returning home to Lagos. The struggle continues!”
Addressing his supporters after his release, Farotimi said, “In my public advocacy and in my fight and wars against the evil empire that we all live in, I have never lied against anyone. If I don’t know something, I will simply say I don’t know.”
A few days ago, a Chief Magistrate Court in Ado Ekiti had granted Farotimi N30 million bail.
The lawyer was arrested earlier in the month for allegedly defaming Afe Babalola (SAN), and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, ABUAD.
Farotimi, who was remanded in a correctional centre in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, arrived at the Magistrate Court premises around 9:45 am on Friday amid heavy security presence.
Meanwhile, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has declined a request from Emmanuel Chambers, the law firm of Chief Afe Babalola, to disbar lawyer and author, Dele Tomilola Farotimi, popularly known as Dele Farotimi.
The request was based on allegations of criminal defamation and professional misconduct.
The petition, submitted by Mr. Ola Faro, a lawyer from Emmanuel Chambers, accused Farotimi of making defamatory remarks about the Supreme Court and the legal profession in his book, Nigeria and the Criminal Justice System.
The petition argued that such comments were damaging and warranted the revocation of his legal practising license.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday in Abuja, LPDC Chairman, Justice Isaq Usman Bello, stated that the committee lacked the jurisdiction to grant the petition, reports The Nation.
“The LPDC operates within the confines of its established authority, and the issues raised in the petition do not fall within the scope of this jurisdiction,” Justice Bello declared.
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