A Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has granted bail to human rights activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, in the sum of ₦50 million with a surety in the same amount.
The court’s decision was made public by Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, via his X handle on Monday.
According to the court’s ruling, the surety must provide a landed property as collateral and be a resident of Ekiti with three years of tax clearance and a property within the state.
The surety and the defendant are also required to submit four recent passport pictures to the court, while Farotimi is to deposit his passport with the registrar of the court.
Farotimi, 56, was arraigned on a 16-count charge of criminal defamation before a Chief Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti and had pleaded not guilty.
The police later filed a fresh 12-count charge against him before the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti.
The charges against Farotimi stem from an online interview and a book he authored, titled “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,” in which he allegedly made false statements about Aare Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The case has been adjourned to January 29, 2025, while Farotimi’s trial continues at the Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti over a non-existent offense in Ekiti law books, according to Sowore.
