A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the suspension of production and distribution of a book written by human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, wherein he allegedly defamed Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
The book titled ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System,” had sparked widespread debate due to allegations of judicial manipulation made by Farotimi against Babalola and the Supreme Court.
Recall that the book recently became a global bestseller in the politics category on Amazon.
It was previously reported that armed police officers arrested Farotimi at his Lagos office on December 3, transporting him over 300 kilometres to Ekiti State.
The next day, he was arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti on charges of criminal defamation against the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Afe Babalola.
The alleged defamatory claims are tied to accusations in the book that Babalola manipulated judicial outcomes to favour his clients.
Aare Afe Babalola’s response to these allegations has drawn public attention, with critics condemning the use of law enforcement to suppress dissenting voices.
Notwithstanding, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria sought and obtained an exparte order to halt the book’s sale and distribution, both in physical and digital formats.
In a suit (No. CV/5372/24) filed by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, the head of Babalola’s law firm, on December 6, 2024, the Plaintiff also requested the seizure of royalties from the book’s sales.
The court’s ruling includes an interlocutory injunction that prohibits Farotimi and affiliated parties from distributing the book through any platform, including major bookstores and online retailers like Amazon.
The order also mandated the seizure of existing copies of the book.
The injunction reads: “An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendant/respondent, whether acting by himself, his staff, employees, servants, privies, representatives, agents, publishers, distributors, sellers, re-publishers, re-sellers, or any other person however described including Amazon Online Bookstore, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore, and Patabah Books Limited from further publishing, selling, circulating, advertising, or distributing the physical/hard/digital/soft copies of the book authored by the defendant/respondent titled: Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System online.”
The legal action comes amid the book’s surging global popularity, with many praising its bold critique of Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
However, bookstores and vendors have already begun ceasing sales in compliance with the court order.
One customer in Abuja who attempted to purchase the book on Wednesday was informed via text message from the vendor:
“Our attention has been drawn to an injunction sought against the sale of the book in bookstores by a SAN in Abuja, which includes our company. Henceforth, we have ceased all sales of the book from our stores.”
Farotimi’s arrest and the subsequent legal moves against his book continue to draw criticism, as activists and readers call for the protection of free speech and transparency in Nigeria’s legal system.
