Dele Farotimi: Loquacity without substance? by D Komolafe

The book and its author represent everything wrong with our profession.

We handled a case up to the Supreme Court. Eventually won. The Chambers of Chief Rotimi Williams SAN was on the other side. It never alleged any wrongdoing.

The dispute was in relation to a large expanse of prime land in Lagos.

During attempts to enforce the decision, Dele Farotimi’s alleged client’s interest in the land that was subject matter of the case was affected.

Apparently, during the pendency of the case at the Supreme Court, Farotimi’s alleged client acquired a part of the land from the party who eventually lost at the Supreme Court.

Fresh litigations were initiated by his client at the High Court of Lagos State. They were eventually settled. Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN’s firm led the litigation and settlement process on behalf of Dele Farotimi’s alleged client. Again Chief Olanipekun SAN never alleged any malfeasance.

Dele Farotimi didn’t even appear as counsel in the Supreme Court. He knew nothing about the case until several months after the decision of the Supreme Court when the enforcement of the said decision impacted his alleged client’s interest.

But four years after the case was amicably settled by the parties, he writes a whole book on how the Supreme Court was corrupted in a case he didn’t even participate in, simply because his client was impacted by the enforcement of the decision.

The parties and lawyers who lost at the Supreme Court have not alleged corruption to date.

Beyond empty assertions of corruption, he offered no evidence of bribery or corruption or interference with the administration of justice.

After we stumbled on the book, civil, criminal, and professional proceedings were initiated by some of us defamed in the book.

He was invited by the Police especially as he claimed in the book, that he was communicating with one of the judges on what papers to draft, etc.

Following his invitation, he became evasive.

He was eventually arrested two nights ago.

He was asked to write a statement on the assertions made in the book against my firm, our founding partner, and the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, up until now, he has refused to offer any evidence to back up the assertions in his book or even write a statement. It’s his right to stay silent. But one would have thought that a man with so much ‘truth’ to spill in his book (it was self-published because no publisher agreed to do so on account of its content) would have gladly offered evidence in support of the allegations to the police.

Barr. D. Komolafe (Àgbà Lóyà)