The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has rejected a request by Emmanuel Chambers, Afe Babalola’s law firm, to disbar Dele Farotimi, a human rights advocate, for alleged unethical conduct.
The firm had written a 90-page petition dated December 6, 2024, and signed by Ola Faro, a partner in the firm, to the LPDC.
In the petition, the firm accused Farotimi of engaging in “conduct that is unbecoming of a legal practitioner, by making false accusations against the supreme court and the legal profession”.
Faro said Farotimi’s book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,’ discredited the nation’s judiciary and judges.
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In its report, (B8B/LPDC/1571/2024), the LPDC, represented by Isaq Bello, its chairman, said the alleged offenses occurred in Farotimi’s capacity as an author, not during his practice as a legal professional.
The LPDC said it lacked jurisdiction to address complaints about publications and advised the aggrieved parties to seek redress in regular courts.
“The publication is an intellectual property and not a conduct or action committed while practicing as a legal practitioner. All aggrieved parties who find the publication ‘defamatory’ should ventilate their grievances through the regular courts,” the report reads.
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Meanwhile, Farotimi was released from the correctional centre in Ekiti state on Tuesday morning after perfecting his bail conditions.
On December 9, the federal high court in Ekiti granted Farotimi N50 million bail with one surety, following a 12-count charge bordering on cybercrime filed by the inspector-general of police.
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