Legal luminary Afe Babalola has withdrawn the criminal defamation suit he filed against rights activist Dele Farotimi.
Mr. Babalola had taken Mr. Farotimi to an Ekiti Magistrates’ Court, alleging criminal defamation over the activist’s controversial book, Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.
The court had previously granted Mr. Farotimi bail set at N30 million.
Mr. Babalola’s decision to withdraw the case came after a late-night visit to his Ado-Ekiti residence by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Sunday.
The Ooni, accompanied by other prominent Yoruba traditional rulers including the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, the Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, the Oloye of Oye-Ekiti, the Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti, and the Olojudo of Ido-Ekiti arrived at Afe Babalola University at around 10:30 p.m.
During the meeting, Mr. Babalola revealed he had received numerous appeals from notable Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Governor Peter Obi, and Bishop Hassan Kukah, urging him to drop the suit.
He emphasised that he had nothing to gain from seeing Mr. Farotimi jailed and said he could not ignore the pleas of the visiting monarchs.
Acknowledging their intervention, Mr. Babalola assured the traditional rulers that he would instruct his lawyers to withdraw the case.
The Ooni of Ife praised Mr. Babalola for his longstanding integrity and described the decision as a demonstration of wisdom and magnanimity.
He noted that the intervention was aimed at fostering reconciliation, urging Mr. Babalola to “pardon his son, Farotimi.”
