FULL TEXT: Afe Babalola’s petition on how Dele Farotimi ‘defamed’ him

The activist was arrested in his office in Lagos on Tuesday
by officers attached to the Ekiti police command and transported to the
south-west state.

FULL TEXT OF THE
PETITION

The Commissioner of Police,

Ado-Ekiti,

Ekiti State.

Dear Sir,

CRIMINAL DEFAMATION
OF AARE AFE BABALOLA, AFE BABALOLA & CO AND HER LAWYERS BY DELE FAROTIMI

I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law
firm Afe Babalola & Co and my lawyers in person of Olu Daramola SAN and Ola
Faro by one Dele Farotimi in his book titled ‘NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM’ published by Dele Farotimi publishers in respect of Suit no:
SC/146/2005: Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors V. H.R.H Oba Tijani
Akinloye & Ors.

SUIT NO: SC/146/2005: MAJOR MURITALA GBADAMOSI ELETU &
ORS V. H.R.H OBA TIJANI AKINLOYE & ORS (2013) 15 NWLR PART 1378

We were solicitors to the Gbadamosi Eletu family in the case
of Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors V. H.R.H Oba Tijani Akinloye &
Ors.

The Appellants lost the case at the High Court and the Court
of Appeal before briefing my law firm to represent them at the Supreme Court.

The Appellant in this suit were Defendants at the High
Court. The subject matter of the suit was 254 hectares of land at Osapa Eti-Osa
Local Government Lagos sold to the late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu in 1977 by the
Ojomu family. The said parcel of land was later acquired by Lagos State
Government after it was sold to the Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu by the Ojomu
family.

The Ojomu family contested the acquisition against Lagos
State Government in Suit No: ID/1883/89 wherein the court set aside the
acquisition by the Lagos State Government. The Ojomu family then instituted the
suit at the High Court of Lagos State claiming that title to the land had
reverted to the Ojomu family despite the earlier sale of the land to late
Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu.

We represented the Eletu family and Judgement was delivered
by the Supreme Court on 13/7/2013 in favour of the Eletu family wherein the
Supreme Court held that: “Where a party has fully divested himself of all
interest in land, no right vests in him to deal with the same property by way
of further alienation anymore. He is caught by the maxim, nemo dat quod non
habet; that is, he cannot give that which he no longer has. In the instant
case, it was unfortunate that the respondents claimed title to the whole of
their family land compulsorily acquired by the Lagos State Government including
the portion earlier sold to the father of the appellants and in which they were
in effective possession. The claim so made without disclosing the truth and
excluding the said portion so sold was clearly made in bad faith and smacked of
insincerity. It was very unconscionable and consequently against the principles
of equity and good conscience”.

The Supreme Court also held that: “A court of law should not
allow itself to be used as an engine for the perpetration of fraud, in whatever
guise”.

A copy of the judgment is hereby attached as annexure 1.

VARIATION OF
JUDGEMENT

Honourable Justice Kumai Bayang AKA’ AHS JSC wrote the lead
judgement. His Lordship erroneously limited the land of the Appellants to 10
hectares (24.17 acres) in respect to Suit no: M/779/93 whose subject matter was
part of the 254 hectares owned by the Eletu family.

We immediately filed a motion for variation of the judgement
of the Supreme Court pursuant to Order 8 Rule 16 of the Rules of Court. The
said motion was heard and ruling delivered on 18/3/2014 granting statutory
right of occupancy to the Appellants in respect to the entire 254 hectares sold
to late Gbadamosi Bamidele Eletu by the Respondents.

A copy of the ruling is hereby attached as annexure 2.

ENFORCEMENT

Upon the delivery of the Judgement, our client
surreptitiously employed the services of S.B Joseph & Co to enforce the
judgement before we applied for variation of the judgement with the intention
of not paying our professional fees.

The judgement was however varied on 18/3/2014 as earlier
stated.

NEW SUIT BY
ESTATES/PERSONS AFFECTED BY THE JUDGEMENT

Several residential estates were affected by the judgement
of the Supreme Court among which were Pinnock Estate, Beach Resort, NICON
Estate, Friends’ Colony Estate and Victory Park Estate etc. Dele Farotimi was
lawyer to one of the Estates.

The affected estates and individuals immediately filed fresh
suits against the Eletu family with the purpose of frustrating the judgement of
the Supreme Court.

The Eletu family were lured by the affected estates to
settle some of the suits behind our law firm despite being counsel on record by
filing terms of settlement with the aim of denying us our professional fees.
This was admitted by Dele Farotimi in page 73 of his book ‘NIGERIA AND ITS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM’.

INTERVENTION BY LAGOS
STATE GOVERNMENT

The Lagos State Government issued a publication indicating
their awareness of the Supreme Court judgement and the need for the State to
intervene in order to maintain public peace and order. The Lagos State
Government invited us for several meetings with respect to compromising the
judgement of the Supreme Court.

The said judgement was eventually compromised and the Eletu
family were compensated by the Lagos State Government so as to avoid a massive
dislocation of persons and communities directly affected by the Judgement.

DEFAMATION BY DELE
FAROTIMI

Sometime on 2/11/2024, one of our lawyers while travelling
through Murtala Muhammed Airport bought a book by Dele Farotimi titled ‘NIGERIA
AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM’ published by Dele Farotimi publishers. He read
the said book and immediately brought it to my attention. Many of my lawyers
also bought the said book and read same.

We received several calls from professional colleagues,
friends and family members who watched a program on Channel’s TV wherein Dele
Farotimi was interviewed with respect to the said book where he made several
defamatory statements against myself, my law firm Afe Babalola & Co
(Emmanuel Chambers), Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro Esq.

We also received several calls from persons who saw excerpts
of the book and interview on several social media platforms.

The said defamatory statements are detailed below:

“That Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to
procure a fraudulent judgement in the service of his client” See page IX.

“That Aare Afe Babalola, Olu Daramola, Olu Faro and the law
offices of Afe Babalola & Co, (Emmanuel Chambers) compromised the Supreme
Court and the remaining semblance of integrity it might have had when they went
back to the Supreme Court and got the Court to swim in the sewer of corruption
and shameful self-Abnegation”. See page X

“That Afe Babalola libeled me and the fact of the libel
became known to me in a suit against Lawal Pedro SAN”. See page X.

“That I sued Afe Babalola SAN for libel and he leveraged his
influence in the Judiciary to deny me justice”. See page X.

“That I have always been familiar with the fact of our
perversion as a People and I have few illusions about equity and justice
reigning in Nigeria but I had always assumed that there were lines that should
never be crossed. I have however been slapped awake by the brazenness of the
judicial brigandage unleashed on hapless citizens, corporate, and individuals
by the Nigerian Supreme Court, acting under the direction of Aare Afe Babalola.
At least five Justices of the Apex Court have been identified as guilty of
odious corruption and or gross incompetence. Either is sufficient to have them
removed from their office and this is my petition to the Nigerian people and
most definitely to the NJC”. See pages 10 to 11.

“The first we knew of the magic been put together by Afe and
his elves must have been around the middle of July”. See page 49.

“While all this was going on, we had a meeting in the law
office of Afe Babalola in Magodo, where Olu Daramola SAN made himself
unavailable, and had us meet with Olu Faro, a younger counsel……..but Olu Faro
Esq was remarkably insolent and assured that we were made aware of just how
powerful the law office he worked for believed itself to be and how much above
the law and the practice of law they believed themselves to be”. See page 52.

“The judgement of the court was unanimous in giving
judgement to the Eletus………But Justice Rhodes-Vivour laid a foundation for the
fraud that was to come. He spoke of an unextinguished equitable interest in 254
hectares”. See page 52 to 53.

“ We quickly realized that the law office of Afe Babalola
& Co, Emmanuel Chambers had outsourced the judgement execution to another
law office, the firm of S.B Joseph & Co the firm had fraudulently and
deliberately concealed the judgement of AKA’AHS and had underlined the words of
Justice Rhodes Vivour to deceive and perhaps mislead Atilade or as is more
likely, Atilade was always a part of the original fraud”. See page 56.

“But even as Atilade J. played the contrition game, she was
already part of the game plan being staged together by the grandmaster of
judicial corruption in Nigeria, Afe Babalola. I have come to the conclusion
that the required form of the application and her ruling were all part of the
insidious plans of Afe Babalola, his band of crooked lawyers and coterie of
crooked/incompetent justices of the Supreme Court”. See page 59.

“The battle to quash the warrant opened my eyes to the
extent of the rot in the court system and I came to the knowledge of the
sickening realities of the systemic putrefaction. The Supreme Court’s Judgement
was doctored by the confederation of lawyers in Afe Babalola’s chambers and the
law offices of S.B Joseph & Co and the end desired by the confederacy was
sought with the active connivance of the head judge of the Lagos Division,
Atilade J.”. See page 60.

“As the mountain of evidence in proof of the Eletus’ fraud
began to pile up and in view of the order that Atilade had granted quashing the
fraudulent warrant that she had issued and as Afe came to realize how useless
the original judgement had become, Afe went back to the accomplices at the
Supreme Court and this is the only logical explanation for the shameless and
brazen review of the fraudulent judgement by the second seating of the court
where the justices destroyed whatever doubt one might have harbored of either
corruption and/ or incompetence”. See page 64.

“It was around this time we began to hear rumors of a return
to the Supreme Court by Afe Babalola and his magical elves and the rumors
became real when I got a call from Tokunbo Williams SAN, who informed me of the
receipt of a motion on notice before the Supreme Court, seeking to correct an
error in the judgement reproduced below”. See page 64.

“But apparently, we had underestimated the extent of the
putrefaction of the Supreme Court and the extent of Chief Afe Babalola’s
corrupt reaches into the innards of the Supreme Court”. See page 64.

“The quashed warrant of execution became the basis of Afe
Babalola latest excursion to the Supreme Court and the error of my acceptance
of the Corrupt offer of an exparte application to quash the warrant for
“Documentary Irregularity” became obvious to me. I knew before the motion was
heard, that the court was working to the conclusion desired by Aare Afe
Babalola”. See page 67.

“The Lagos crowd had been snookered into a corner by the
exertions of my chambers and we had demolished the original fraud that was
hatched before Afe secured the first of the two judgements………..The Supreme
Court cannot hide behind the incompetence of counsel as it has a duty to
examine its own appalling intellectual indolence, corruption or incompetence”.
See page 70.

“But the court as though enthralled by whatever Afe the
Circus Master had Promised the Justices, acted with utmost carelessness about
the integrity of the court, the interest of the citizens and the State that
they had been sworn to protect. The conspiracy was always a step ahead of us
because some of the clients mistook key members of the confederacy of friends
and helpers”. See pages 70 to 71.

“The Attorney General had been dragged into the matter. The
brutal attempt at enforcement of the original judgement against organized
estates and corporate establishments had served to galvanize extremely critical
and sensitive mass of the affected peoples and this was when Afe Babalola lost
his influence on the Eletus and the Lagos Mafia whose original brief to procure
enforcement of the judgement became the dominant force in the conspiracy
muscling out the Afe gang. With Afe Babalola rendered impotent, Lawal Pedro
muscled in on the queue”. See page 71.

“…… she knows more about the case that culminated in the
Supreme Court Judgement and she also knew everything that I had known about the
Eletus fraud and Afe Babalola’s shenanigans”. See page 76.

“But Afe knew that he could get the Supreme Court to do
whatever he wanted and to rule however he asked. Pedro knew this too and he
being the original Lagos boy, showed Afe a bit of Lagos magic. Afe Babalola and
the Eletus might have killed the buffalo but had no way from feeding from the
carcass. We have turned the corrupt triumph at the Supreme Court into a pyrrhic
victory and it was at this point that Pedro craftily inserted himself into the
plot”. See page 80.

“If Afe Babalola might be likened to the lion, Lawal Pedro
and the Lagos gang are the originally Africa wild hyenas. They literally chased
Afe Babalola off his skill. They repackaged the conspiracy, cut the losses and
went for the lower hanging fruits”. See page 80.

“This was enough until “eedi” (karma) caught up with Afe
Babalola; he dragged Lawal Pedro before the Lagos High Court and the Eletus
before ICPC”. See page 81.

“Sometimes in 2016, I started hearing rumblings of some
serious fight between Chief Afe Babalola and Lawal Pedro. I was told that Chief
Afe Babalola had written a petition to the LPDC, alleging that Lawal Pedro had
railroaded his client Gbadamosi Eletu, into an agreement that circumvents his
own legal agreement with the Eletus. About same time, I also heard that the
ICPC had been pressed into action against the Eletus, Lawal Pedro and S.B
Joseph, which seemed quite incongruous, given the fact that the Eletus were not
public officers this event stirred an interest in me. I got my popcorn at the
ready and waited to be entertained by the squabbling thieves”. See page 81.

“When Amina Augie JSC railed against Chief Afe Babalola’s
professional conduct, or misconduct in the Bayelsa case, she did so either as
an ostrich or out of ignorance. Afe has been corrupting the Supreme Court from
ages past and had led it to commit the most egregious acts of evil and wanting
injustice. Afe knows what her ladyship does not know or pretend not to know:
that justice does not live in the Nigerian court or you can get the court to do
whatever you want, as long as you know who to speak with and who to pay”. See
page 83.

“Afe’s letter to Tunde Phillips, then C.J of Lagos State
showed how frustrated he had become about the inability to execute the
fraudulent judgement. In spite of the fact that he asked the Supreme Court to
do what it had never done before……. the Eletus had formed a new confederacy and
had neither room or use for Afe Babalola, who had overestimated his own
importance to the plot and failed to discern that he had defectively become
unnecessary to the new plotters”. See page 84

“Afe is so enmeshed in his corruption that he has lost all
sense of propriety and or fairness”. See page 84.

“I have absolutely no interest in taking Afe Babalola’s
corrupt money but I was not going to allow a corrupt, amoral man, devoid of any
integrity, to define me for posterity when none of us will be around to dispute
the hagiographic account of the event”. See page 84

“Afe Babalola was imperial by the suit I filed in court it
was designed to blow open the tawdry details of his dirty deals with the
Supreme Court…….it was a thing to be having a quarrel among thieves, each knew
how far they might push their claim but it is quite another thing to get into
“roforofo” fight with a man seemingly incapable of walking way from a fight”.
See page 85

“The perils that were been faced by all key members of the
twin camps of conspirators………I must close with a caveat; I am not privy to what
happened in the conclaves of crooks….” See page 85

“But there was a second incentive. This was the promise to
get rid of the nuisance that my libel suit against Afe represented. I knew when
I knew when I was filing the suit, that Afe was not in a position to ever
defend the suit. He has no defense and he never anticipated that I will ever
become aware of his libel and if he did, he wasn’t concerned about what a mere
mortal like me could do to a god like him. Afe was offered assurances that he
need not worry about the case. The conspirators had it in hand and would
extinguish the fire.” See page 88.

“I sued Afe Babalola because I was always going to blow his
dirty, tawdry secrets. I did not know how long any of us had to live and I did
not want to be dealing with the idiotic arguments that I could envision, of
Afe’s proteges, arguing that I was slandering the dead if the book was to be
published after his demise. He is already well in his 80s. I have offered him
the opportunity to defend himself. He went to extra ordinary lengths to deny me
my day in court”. See page 93.

The book ‘NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM’ is hereby
attached as annexure 3.

All these statements are false and incorrect written
deliberately to destroy my reputation. Dele Farotimi referred to me severally
in his book as the Doyen of the legal profession.

The book has been circulated all over the country
particularly in Ekiti State where so many persons who respect me as an elder
state man has expressed their disdain as a result of the defamatory statement
made by Dele Farotimi. The book has also been massively distributed online and
has reached many persons globally who have expressed concern by Dele Farotimi’s
intention to damage my hard-earned reputation. This is contrary to Section 374
of the Criminal Code.

These Statements are contrary to Section 373 and 375 of the
Criminal Code which forbids any one from making defamatory statement which is
likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred,
contempt or ridicule or likely to damage any person in his profession or trade
by an injury to his reputation.

The said statements are meant to lower myself, my law firm and
my lawyer’s self-esteem in the eyes of members of the society and also to
expose us to hatred, contempt or ridicule in the eyes of right-thinking members
of the society. These statements were intended to cause right thinking persons
in the society to shun and avoid me, my law firm and my lawyers.

The statements were made with the purpose of discrediting my
law firm and ridicule us within the legal profession in order to injure our
hard-earned reputation and financial credit.

The statements have caused many of our clients to stay away
from us and seek the services of other law firms.

These defamatory statements have aroused the anger of
right-thinking members of the society particularly members of the legal
profession against me, my law firm and my lawyers.

These statements are likely to set the legal profession and
the society at large ablaze in a way that can disturb public peace.

MY REPUTATION AND MY
LAW FIRM

With every sense of modesty, I am one of the most
distinguished legal luminaries of my generation, renowned both in Africa and
globally for my profound contributions to the legal profession and the
advancement of education. With over six decades of uninterrupted legal
practice, my career is a testament to exceptional dedication, integrity,
strategic advocacy, and visionary leadership.

I am a highly accomplished advocate, with some of the most
celebrated cases in Nigerian legal history, representing high-profile clients,
including government institutions, multinational corporations, and individuals.
My advocacy spans domestic and international courts including contributions as
a consultant to the Federal Government of Nigeria, World Bank, and various
conglomerates. My extensive experience includes my role in arbitration, both
locally and internationally, where I remain a respected authority. I appeared
in numerous landmark cases, shaping Nigerian jurisprudence and establishing
myself as one of the nation’s most formidable legal minds.

My influence goes beyond the courtroom. As the Founder of
Afe Babalola & Co. (Emmanuel Chambers), one of Nigeria’s leading law firms,
I have trained over 300 lawyers, including 14 Senior Advocates of Nigeria
(SANs), judges, and attorneys-general, making my chambers one of the most
significant contributors to the legal profession in Nigeria. My exceptional
litigation skills and legal acumen earned me the prestigious title of Senior
Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1987, cementing his place at the pinnacle of legal
practice in the country. I currently have 7 senior advocates in chambers.

I am a renowned scholar and author. I have authored several
authoritative legal texts, including Injunctions and Enforcement of Orders and
Law and Practice of Evidence in Nigeria. My contributions to legal education
extend to teaching at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and
delivering lectures at prestigious universities such as the University of Lagos
and the University of Ibadan. My popular column, YOU AND THE LAW, published in
the Nigerian Tribune, reflects my commitment to educating the public on legal
matters.

Beyond my legal practice, I have made extraordinary strides
in education. My experience as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing
Council of the University of Lagos (2001-2007) spurred me to establish Afe
Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD). ABUAD has quickly become a beacon of
academic excellence, integrity, setting new standards in Nigeria’s educational
system. My efforts in education has been recognized globally, with numerous
honorary degrees from universities including the University of London,
University of Lagos and Ekiti State University.

My leadership in academia and law has earned me numerous
accolades, including the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), Commander of
the Order of the Niger (CON), and international recognition such as the Queen
Victoria Commemorative Award at the Socrates Awards in Oxford, UK. I was named
Africa Man of the Year on Food Security and awarded an Honorary Doctor of
Management by the Federal University of Technology, Akure. My groundbreaking
achievements continue to inspire generations of lawyers and leaders across
Africa and beyond.

In addition to my legal and educational contributions, I
remain a committed philanthropist and advocate for reform in various sectors.
My vast experience, unmatched expertise and unwavering commitment to excellence
make me a trailblazer in the fight for truth, fairness and justice.

Key Achievements:

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), 1987.

Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR).

Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council,
University of Lagos (2001-2007).

Founder and Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti
(ABUAD).

Queen Victoria Commemorative Award winner, Oxford UK.

Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of London, Ekiti
State University, University of Lagos, and more.

My law firm was established in 1965 and has been nurtured
and sustained by the finest legal values including integrity, advocacy,
fairness, discipline and justice.

DELE FAROTIMI’S
ADMISSION OF CRIME

It is necessary to bring it to your notice that Dele
Farotimi admitted to have unlawful access to and corrupted the judiciary when
he wrote in page 58 of his book as follows:

“The original Motion prepared by my office was a Motion on
Notice. We prepared this and readied our processes to be filed, and then word
came to us vide the Ojomu’s palace. Atilade had asked that we filed the motion
expatre; this was to avoid a lengthy delay she assured her messangers to me, as
having the motion papers served on Afe Babalola & Co will only serve to
prolong the resolution of the problems created either by her corruption and or
incompetence. My reasoned arguments against the exparte motion were not
countenanced by the clients. They all just wanted the mess over and done with.
Multi billion naira investments were being undermined by the situation. And
several lives were being disrupted they argued”.

DISREGARD FOR RULE OF
LAW

It understandable why Dele Farotimi threw caution into the
winds in writing his defamatory book. He stated in page 41 of the book, his
uttermost disregard for the rule of law as follows:

“It was during one of our heated sessions that I declared my
philosophy of law and I believe it was also the day that we began to understand
the strength of our synergy and the value and efficiency of our then emergent
partnership. I explained to him that I did not read law to follow the rules.”

CONCLUSION

We hereby humbly request that you use your good office to
investigate the matter and stop Dele Farotimi from further damaging my
reputation, the reputation of my law firm and that of my lawyers.

We also request that all existing hard copies of the said
book should be recovered by the police while we take other necessary legal
actions against Dele Farotimi.

In addition, his admission of corrupting the judiciary
should also be investigated .

We request that this should be treated with utmost urgency
in other to preserve the dignity of the temple of justice and the legal
profession.

Yours faithfully

Aare Afe Babalola SAN

Founding Partner

Afe Babalola & Co