By Seyi Babalola
Dele Farotimi, a human rights lawyer, was granted ₦30 million bail by an Ekiti State magistrate court on Friday.
Farotimi, who was remanded in a correctional facility in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State’s capital, arrived at the Magistrate Court at 9:45 a.m. on Friday.
His bail comes after the magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, had at the last sitting, reserved ruling till December 20 on the bail application and ordered that the activist be remanded in prison.
During the court proceedings, Farotimi pleaded not guilty to the 14-count charge preferred against him by the police.
His counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, has submitted a preliminary objection requesting the court to dismiss the indictment.
According to him, the case before the court was not legal, and the offence of defamation was not recognized by the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
Farotimi is being tried before a chief magistrate’s court in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, for allegedly defaming Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Afe Babalola.
