Dele Farotimi Granted ₦30m Bail, Barred From Media Engagements

Kehinde Fajobi

A magistrates’ court in Ado-Ekiti has granted bail totalling ₦30 million to lawyer and human rights activist Dele Farotimi, following his arraignment on defamation charges.

Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun, delivering the ruling on Friday, approved the bail with conditions that include providing two reliable sureties and surrendering Farotimi’s international passport to the court.

Farotimi was also prohibited from engaging with the media about the case until the trial concludes.

In a related development, Magistrate Adeosun disallowed Farotimi’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika, SAN, from representing him in the case, citing Section 9 of the Magistrate’s Courts Law 2014 as the basis for the decision.

The activist pleaded not guilty to the allegations against him.

Farotimi was arraigned by the Ekiti Police Command following a petition from Senior Advocate of Nigeria and elder statesman, Afe Babalola, who alleged that Farotimi had defamed him in a recently published book.

The activist is also being tried separately at the Federal High Court in Ekiti for alleged cybercrime. Earlier, on December 9, the court had granted him bail set at ₦50 million with a surety, a condition he has yet to fulfil.