Dele Farotimi, a human rights advocate, has appreciated Nigerians for standing by him during his time in prison.
Farotimi was remanded by the Ekiti state magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti for 21 days after he was accused of “criminally defaming” Afe Babalola, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in a book titled: ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.
He regained freedom on December 24, after being granted bail of N30 million by the court.
In a YouTube video following his release, Farotimi broke down in tears, while thanking Nigerians who rallied support for him.
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“We stopped being humans because we became Nigerians. They divided us and we fell for it. Because you would not see me as a Yoruba man, you spoke for me,” he said.
“You would not see me as a Christian, you spoke for me. Because you spoke, Nigeria could not happen to me. You found your voices, I became you and in our collective, we could not be silenced.”
Meanwhile, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has rejected a request from Emmanuel Chambers, Babalola’s law firm, to disbar Farotimi for alleged unethical conduct.
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Isaq Bello, chairman of the LPDC, said the allegations pertained to Farotimi’s role as an author and not his practice as a lawyer.
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