By Ayo Kehinde
Barely 24 hours after an Ekiti State High Court on Monday, granted human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, N50m bail, a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti, on Tuesday, denied bail to the rights activist.
Farotimi was arrested last week in Lagos by officers of the Ekiti Police Command. The activist was accused of maligning and defaming the character of a renowned legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University, Afe Babalola, in his recently published book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, where he alleged that Afe Babalola corrupted the Judiciary and procured judgements in the supreme court.
The presiding judge of Magistrate court, Abayomi Adeosun, had on December 4, remanded Farotimi in prison custody after he pleaded not guilty to a16-count charge filed against him by the Police. The court adjourned until December 10, to rule on the Farotimi bail application.
On Friday, the Police filed an additional 12-count charge against Farotimi.
At the court hearing on Tuesday, Magistrate Adeosun further adjourned the ruling on the bail application to December 20. This comes after the police counsel, Samson Osobu, argued that the bail application by the activist was incomplete and not properly filed.
