By Our Correspondent
A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, has granted activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi bail in a criminal defamation case involving senior lawyer Afe Babalola.
The ruling, delivered on Friday by Chief Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun, came 16 days after Mr. Farotimi’s detention on charges related to his book, Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.
Bail was set at ₦30 million, with additional conditions, including the surrender of Mr. Farotimi’s passport to the court registrar and a prohibition on granting media interviews until the case concludes.
The courtroom and its surroundings saw heightened security as the police deployed heavily armed Rapid Response Squad operatives.
Human rights activists and advocacy groups also gathered to protest, demanding Mr. Farotimi’s unconditional release.
Mr. Farotimi was arraigned on December 4 on 16 charges of defamation.
The charges stemmed from allegations in his book accusing Mr. Babalola, founder of Afe Babal
