December 12, 2024,
A federal high Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Peter Kekemeke, had On Wednesday Ordered Police and the DSS to seize Farotimi’s Book “Nigeria and it’s criminal justice system” from bookstores nationwide
The ruling was delivered following an ex parte application by the Managing partner of the Afe Babalola’s Emmanuel Chambers. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN.
Chief Afe Babalola, a senior lawyer, had orchestrated Farotimi’s arrest in Lagos State by using policemen from Ekiti State on December 2.
Following the arrest, demands for the book increased in major bookstores and became a bestseller on the Amazon e-commerce store.
Nigeria Police Force, the State Security Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, according to Channel television, are to inform the court of their compliance with the order within 72 hours of receiving the enrollment of order. Some of the bookstores listed in the application were Amazon Online Bookstore, Dele Farotimi Publishers, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop and Patabah Books Limited.
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Ogunwumiju’s prayers before the court read, “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 howsoever 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, electronically, physically or by any other means including social media, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
“An order of interlocutory injunction directing the seizure of all physical copies of the book authored by the Defendant/Respondent titled: ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, wherever they may be found including at Dele Farotimi Publishers, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore and Patabah Books Limited worldwide by the Nigerian Police Force, State Security Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp and all other security agencies pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction dated and filed on the 6th day of December 2024.”
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Farotimi is facing multiple causes of defamation and cybercrime based on the contents of his book accusing Babalola of corrupting some justices of the Supreme Court and building his reputation on corruption. Following Farotimi’s arrest, the police hurriedly arraigned and got him remanded in a prison in Ekiti.
Fresh cases have also been instituted against Farotimi by lawyers within Babalola’s camp, for instance, Justice Mufutau Adegbola of an Oyo State High Court granted a similar order to restrain the author or any of his agents from further producing the book.
Adebayo Adenipekun, who works with Babalola, initiated the said case via an ex parte application on Monday. The case would come up for hearing on January 7, 2025
