Nigerian Senior Advocate, Adebayo Adenipekun Sues Dele Farotimi To Oyo State High Court

A court document dated 9th December, 2024 which SaharaReporters obtained on Tuesday showed the court summoned Dele Farotimi to appear before it within 30 days of service.

A prominent lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adebayo Adenipekun, has filed a lawsuit against human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, at the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State.

A court document dated 9th December, 2024 which SaharaReporters obtained on Tuesday showed the court summoned Dele Farotimi to appear before it within 30 days of service.

Adebayo Adenipekun, SAN, is listed as the claimant while Dele Farotimi and Dele Farotimi Publishers are listed as the first and second defendants respectively.

The court document reads: “You are hereby commanded that within 30 (thirty) days of the service of this writ on you, inclusive of the day of such service you do cause an appearance to be entered for you in an action at the suit of ADEBAYO ADENIPEKUN, SAN, FCIArb, and take notice that in default of your doing so the Claimant may proceed therein, and judgement may be given in your absence.”

The document continued: “This Writ is to be served within 6 (six) calendar months from the date thereof or, if renewed, within 3 (three) calendar months from the date of the last renewal including the day of such date, and not afterwards.

“The Defendant may enter appearance personally or by Legal Practitioner either by handing in the appropriate forms.”

This is coming amid the ongoing legal battles between Farotimi and another prominent lawyer, Afe Babalola

SaharaReporters had reported that the Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, reserved its ruling and adjourned the bail application of Dele Farotimi, to Friday, December 20, 2024.

The ruling means Farotimi, despite the growing public outcry, would remain in custody for another 10 days, prolonging his wait for justice and freedom.

Earlier, Farotimi, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 14 charges levelled against him at the Ekiti State Magistrate Court.

The charges, which were initially 16, were amended and reduced to 14 by the prosecution before being served to the defendant.

Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that human rights lawyer Farotimi arrived at the premises of the Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court in Ekiti State in the ongoing trial on the defamation suit filed against him by legal luminary, Afe Babalola (SAN).

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) brought the lawyer on Tuesday morning without handcuffs, after facing backlashes on Monday at the Federal High Court.

SaharaReporters reported also that Farotimi submitted a preliminary objection, urging the Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court in Ekiti State to dismiss the defamation suit filed against him by Afe Babalola (SAN).

The preliminary objection, filed on Monday dated December 9, 2024, ahead of Tuesday’s hearing of the defamation charge was submitted through his lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), who leads a team of 19 other lawyers.

The objection is based on Section 36(8) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 4(1) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, Sections 77(10)(a), 147, and 370 of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2014, and Sections 25 and 42 of the Magistrates Courts Law (No. 5, 2014) of Ekiti State.

Farotimi’s objection outlines five key grounds, arguing that the charge against him is legally invalid, non-existent, and that the magistrate acted beyond their jurisdiction by considering an incompetent charge.

The five grounds of the objection are as follows: “The 16-count charge before the magistrate court pertains to alleged offences under the “Criminal Code Act.”

The Criminal Code Act is applicable in Ekiti State through adoption and/or domestication as the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti, 2012.