Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and managing partner at Afe Babalola & Co., has filed a lawsuit against activist and author Dele Farotimi over alleged false and defamatory statements in his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
The suit, filed on December 6, prayed the court to halt the publication and sale of the book in both physical and online bookstores.
Ogunwumiju is also demanding N500 million in damages and an apology published in two national newspapers.
According to the suit, Ogunwumiju seeks “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendant/respondent, whether acting by himself, his staff, employees, servants, privies, representatives, agents, publishers, distributors, sellers, re-publishers, re-sellers, or any other person howsoever described including Amazon Online Bookstore, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore and Patabah Books Limited from further publishing, selling, circulating, advertising, or distributing the physical/hard/digital/soft copies of the book authored by the Defendant/Respondent titled: Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, online, electronically, physically or by any other means including social media, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
Additionally, the SAN is requesting an order for the seizure of all copies of the book, irrespective of their location, to be executed by security agencies.
“An order of interlocutory injunction directing the seizure of all physical copies of the book authored by the Defendant/Respondent titled: Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, wherever they may be found including at Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore and Patabah Books Limited worldwide by the Nigerian Police Force, State Security Service, and Nigeria Security,” the suit further read.
The legal battle comes in the wake of Farotimi’s recent arrest by the Ekiti State police command over allegations of defamation and cyberbullying. The activist was accused of disseminating false information against Afe Babalola, a prominent figure in Nigeria’s legal landscape.
Following his arrest, the Inspector-General of Police filed a 12-count charge against Farotimi, centred on alleged cybercrimes. On Monday, Farotimi was granted bail on the cybercrime charges. However, he appeared in an Ekiti magistrate court the following day for arraignment on separate defamation charges.
The case has sparked public attention, particularly concerning issues of freedom of speech and the legal rights of authors in Nigeria.
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