Afe Babalola and Dele Farotimi: of a god and a mere mortal.

Afe Babalola and Dele Farotimi: of a god and a mere mortal.

By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

Justice they say should not just be done, it must be seen done! When justice is done but not seen done, it leaves room for seeds of bitterness and a vengeful spirit on which a revenge mission may fester, which has led many to take laws into their hands. In some cases resulting in self trials of cases already rested by the court. Many may proceed to the “court of the public”.

In Farotimi’s case, a retrial of a case already rested by the Supreme court by himself, is now being appealed in the court of the public.

A book written by Farotimi and published on the 2nd of July 2024, reviewed by Adesina Ademola Ogunlana titled “NIGERIA AND ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM” is the subject of controversy, with 116 pages of a story told of how wealthy individuals in Nigeria pervert the course of justice and purchase the same as “laurels” of their lasciviousness.

Who is Dele Farotimi?

I will choose the description of him by a long but lost friend whom I stumbled on his page of the FB @Inumidun Benson, himself a Baba Dudu.

“Black Moses, we call him.
Dele Farotimi, not your run-of-the-mill man. His forte, beyond his uncanny posturing, is deeply rooted in personage who has etched himself and his untiring campaign for equity and accountability in the consciousness of a bemoaned country”.

If Benson is apt in his thoughts of Dele Farotimi, it means, this is a campaign for equity and accountability, before a bemoaned audience whose consciousness he sought to prick.

One of the high points of the petition of Afe Babalola is his quote of Dele, “I did not read law to follow the rules” the rules in this context for me, does not suggest the rule of law, but of established “rules” by the way of orders of doing things. Asserting himself, indeed as a Black Moses, sent to dare the Pharaohs of our days and their judicial magicians.

The reality of his not being our run-of-the mill-Man is encountered in the last paragraph of the foreword to the book, against the tradition of book writing and publishing, Dele couldn’t find anyone but himself to write the foreword, not introduction, which by ethos is understandable for authors to do.

In the last paragraph of the Foreword, Dele Farotimi stated;

“The story I intend to tell is wrapped around the above facts and have been carefully espoused to highlight only the facts of the matter. AFTER ALL, OF WHAT USE IS A LAWYER WITHOUT HIS FACT? (Emphasis mine), and you will do well to keep it in mind.

In his petition Afe Babalola stated; “we request that this should be treated with utmost urgency in order to preserve the dignity of the temple of Justice and the legal profession”.

Is Afe Babalola playing to a well written script of Dele Farotimi’s determination to expose the rot in the judiciary?

What are the facts of Lawyer Dele Farotimi?
Are they limited to the case; SUIT NO: SC/146/2005: MAJOR MURITALA GBADAMOSIELETU & ORS V. HRH OBA TIJANI AKINLOYE & ORS (2013) 15 NWLR PART 1378, which he extensively referenced in his book. Or, are there now areas of interest of Dele in the light of 2023 election, that may help him prove the corruption in the Judiciary.

I have found myself in a similar situation, when I wrote about an individual who in his claim to integrity believed he was defamed and his lawyer , a Senior Advocate of Nigeria wrote me on his behalf demanding that I withdraw the article. I didn’t even dignify both himself and his lawyer with a reply because the facts available to me would have been a monumental revelation of how years of service are elongated in the civil service beyond its constitutional provisions. God saved them, they didn’t press beyond the letter.

In Yoruba mythology gods, were once mere mortals whose exceptional power and exploits among men; good or bad conferred on them the status of gods. Sango was born a mere man until he acquired diabolical powers and became the 3rd Alaafin of Oyo, after Ajaka his brother and Oranmiyan his progenitor who was the first Alaafin, but instead of dying and be buried, He buried himself alive, an exploit announced by a thunder leading to his posthumous deification, ascribing to him the god of thunder. Africans are too naive to question gods, if we aren’t, the question should have been long asked if there was no thunder before Sango was born? Or there were no iron before Ogun became a Smither, and for whatever reason, he was elevated to the status of the god of iron.

Afe Babalola is no doubt a god in Nigeria’s Temple of Justice but from the very pen, of this “god” of law, came reason for a question to be raised about the author of his petition.

One of the paragraphs read; “my influence goes beyond the courtroom. As the Founder of Afe Babalola & Co (Emmanuel Chamber), one of Nigeria’s leading law firms, I have trained over 300 lawyers, including 14 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), judges, 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”. (Emphasis on “HIS” mine).

While the word should have been “my”, “his”, was used or should I say found.

Was the petition written by the “god” of the law who forgot to use the word my or is it a typographical error, or may be, it was written by a mere mortal in practice of law for a god of law to sign. It couldn’t have been a mistake.

This of course is proof if I am right that this is beyond the god coming after a mere mortal. Has somebody offered an abominable sacrifice to the gods, provoking him to come after Dele Farotimi? when silence would have dignified 95 years of this god of law in the estate of men.

Of his capacity as a god a writer wrote. In a piece, by, “Duke of Somolu”, who recounted his encounter with Aare Afe Babalola, which I would like to refer to as “who dares the gods”. He wrote:

“Chief Afe Babalola is a god make no mistake about it.

His godship is even more profound in Ekiti state where he is the largest tax payer, largest employer of labour and simply the spirit behind the state.

In Nigeria, he is still a god and his stature can only be eclipsed by his bosom friend Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who is a little bit lower than Jesus in the scheme of things

Anyhow, I had written a very critical piece against daddy after he was said to have donated a huge sum of money to a British University.

A few weeks after, the MD of Thisday sent me a letter on Whatsapp:

“I opened it and it was from Ekiti State Police command saying that my name had been mentioned in a criminal defamation case reported by the Chief Afe Babalola people.

I say Aghhh…Me?. I immediately called the Editor, my brother Davidson. That one, starts to laugh.

Edgar, oya dey go Ekiti make dem help me beat you small, he joked.

Seriously, I asked mbok wetin concern wetin I write for Lagos with Ekiti.

Davidson says I should just go with the Lord.

As I always do in times of crises, I started working my phones.

First I must neutralise the police.

I called Sanjo Lawal my boy at Command who called an AiG who was our junior to help prepare a soft landing.

He said I should not go to Ekiti but that I should get a lawyer to write to the CP to buy time while we devolve a strategy .

I called Niran, the brilliant head of Ekiti Revenue service. Niran said I should come to Ekiti that I should not be afraid that he would join me to go see baba.

I say my brother, wait I will come, let me finish building my support system.

Niran got me a lawyer and we briefed him and he agreed to go the next morning on my behalf.

I say tell them say I dey purge say I go soon come

Then I called Bolanle Austen Peters his daughter. She was initially upset with me but agreed to talk to her father.

I called her husband who also fired me but also jumped into the matter

Then I called Bode Olanipekun SAN who called Chief’s Son who also said I should just write an apology and go to Ekiti

Then I called Akin Rotimi member of House of Rep who gave me access to the state’s Chief Security Officer who also promised to work on the police.

Shebi na Nigeria we all dey na, oya make we work the strings together na.

By this time, I was sufficiently calm because Bode had come back that Baba had been reached but had said they should come back after his siesta.

Then I went back to the article . I didnt call him a thief o, I only said donating that kind of money in a country that didnt need it as against a country that had over 30m children out of school was…

I no go talk the words I used before dey come for me again o..

By 8pm Bolanle had reached me that she had reached her dad and he was open to meeting with me.

To finally make sure I had totally smothered the fire, I reached Chief Obasanjo’s people who reached him in Ethiopia.

He said they shoud tell me to go and ‘hide’ in his abeokuta house till he comes back.

This gave me huge confidence that even if I was thrown into alcatraz, I will be going on my own conditions

Then i got my man Seyi involved. Seyi called Baba Ijebus CSO who got the Ekiti CP who gave us his words that I would be given a soft landing since ‘Baba is our father’

Then I called Chief Fani Kayode who offered to speak to the Governor for further support and I thanked him for his offer.

Then someone from Baba’s media team called and we had a nice conversation. We agreed on a date to appear; “just say sorry when you come” and I said yes sir.

Then I spoke with Air Vice Marshall Makinde Rtd to provide further support and firepower in case I needed to shoot my way out of the place; then was set for my journey.

I couldn’t sleep that night as I was tossing and turning fearful that what if everything goes wrong and am whisked away to Gashua. Kai!!

D-day came and Niran sent in police escort to come pick me in Lagos and we moved.

Stopped at Ife to eat Amala and continued with the journey.

On the way, I kept calling his people and they kept reassuring me that Daddy had cooled down.

We entered Ekiti and rendezvous was Nirans office and he agreed to the plan

Niran is the head of the delegation , his in-law will join and we will carry some of his relations who work in the University to join the begging party.

We arrived and they asked us to come back that Baba was having his siesta.

We went back and they ushered us in.

The office was huge and intimidating. He was on his table in a suit and his cowboy hat on its stand.

Niran and team went straight to the floor in prostration and I joined- Kabiyesi o(hail the king); we all echoed

Niran started talking in Yoruba. Niran is a preacher and a well versed yoruba man so he combined both and with proverbs massaged baba for me.

Then Baba asked to see me and I stood up and he said I should go and cut my hair and come back.

We went out for a quick meeting because the team knew that, I will enter that prison before I cut the hair.

We agreed to get a skull cap, which would cover the hair and that’s what we did.

We went back to see him and went back on the floor and he started.

For one hour plus, he took us thru Nigerian history, his role in it and why he made the donations.

He was quite emotional and upset at the same time.

I begged; we begged and finally he calmed down and gave all of us money in an envelope

When I checked my own outside , it was N50k and I asked Niran how much he got, N50k too and I was upset

Na me bring all of us here and na me risk jail term, why we go all get the same amount

Niran begged me to better lets run away before the baba change him mind o

Baba Babalola in his mid 90s has won the grace to be left alone.

He is singularly one of the greatest ever living Nigerians, so looking for his trouble is not something we should subscribe to.

There are many others we can be abusing. We never abuse Tinubu finish or Gbaja or even Keyamo, make we leave baba Afe alone

He deserves full respect

Thank u”.

This Duke of Shomolu is obviously a reflection of an average Nigerian, living life without conscience and consequently conviction and strength of character that should power actions. A portrait of sycophancy that professional practices have become, particularly of journalism. In cautioning us to be careful with his god, he was careless with is words, elevating former President Olusegun Obasanjo a little lower than the God I have personally witnessed OBJ lie down to worship.

Sides are already established, on the side of the god of law and the mere mortal lawyer.

An Advocate of Dele Farotimi in the court of the public, rejecting the Duke of Somolu’s generalisation, wrote:

“Well, he is not my god! As an elder, I respect him as we ought to do to all elders! But before anyone consecrates him as a god in the Nigerian Legal Profession, and in the public space at large, let me take them back memory lane!

In 2020, the Supreme Court imposed a N30 million fine on Chief Afe Babalola, SAN and Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN two very senior lawyers, over the application for a review of its judgment on Bayelsa State governorship election.

Amina Augie, J.S.C., who read the judgment on behalf of the seven-man panel, said as follows concerning Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN & Chief Afe Babalola, SAN:
👇

“ With tears in my eyes, I cannot believe that in my lifetime, I would see very senior members of the bar bring applications of this nature to this court which are aimed at desecrating the sanctity of this court , violating the principles and decisions of this court and destroying the esteem on which this court is held .

“ The applications are vexatious, they are frivolous and gross abuse of court process .

*In the circumstances, the two applications are hereby dismissed and the cost of N10 million each is awarded against the first, second and third applicants respectively in favour of the first, second and third respondents *to be paid personally by their respective counsels .* ”

So, from the clear findings of the Supreme Court, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN., and Chief Afe Babalola had been indicted by the Supreme Court for:

1. desecrating the sanctity of the Supreme Court;
2. violating the principles and decisions of the Supreme Court;
3. destroying the esteem in which the Supreme Court is held;
4. involved in gross abuse of Court process.

Let god seekers seek their gods, but I take exceptions to being pontificated about certain facts when it comes to those whom respect is due in this country on certain matters of public and historical knowledge! If the Apex Court of your country pilloried you in the twilight of your life and career, one would have thought some circumspection would be involved before you go casting further stones in the market place!

Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, is not my god or my role model! And he is free to send Ekiti State Police Command to arrest me too! I look forward to receiving them!!

A. B. Jimoh
4th December, 2024″

In concluding his petition; Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, wrote;
“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”.

Farotimi doesn’t look like a man that can be stopped. Silence of Chief Afe Babalola would have served the purpose for which the petition was written. The book was possibly less than 10,000 copies until Dele’s arrest was made. Like David Ololade said, it was a, “promotion by persecution”

Further requests made by Aare Afe Babalola; “we also request that all existing hard copies of the book should be recovered by the police while we take other necessary legal actions against Dele Farotimi. In addition, his admission of a corrupted judiciary should also be investigated”.

The sales in leap and bounds of the controversial book was indirectly sponsored by Aare Afe Babalola, SAN; in his request that existing hard copies of the book be recovered by the police. It left students and everyone in the practice of law wondering what in the book must have shaken the Iroko in the forest of law.

This for me may become an unofficial retrial of the 2023 Presidential election to which Farotimi may rely heavily for fact to prove that the gods in the temple of Justice in Nigeria have long fallen like mere mortals. It’s not too late to let the sleeping dog lie.

Another public opinion on the issue posted by Godwin Adeboboye on his FB, though I can’t tell if it originated from him or not seems pointing in the direction of a retrial of the Presidential election of 2023.

The post stated: “DELE FAROTIMI Vs AARE AFE BABALOLA !

Desiderius Erasmus: The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity, and ignorance they have. All these F00LS, however, find other F00LS who applaud them.

Me: Recent happenings in our polity give credence to Erasmus’s saying.

Dele Farotimi Vs Afe Babalola!

Farotimi filed a case against Afe Babalola. The State Chief Judge referred the case to the DPP.
The DPP was the Chairman at Farotimi’s wedding.

Since Farotimi fell out with the DPP, he believes his case against Afe Babalola was corrupted.
Farotimi took his case all the way to the Supreme Court and lost.
Since he lost at the Supreme Court Farotimi believes that Afe Babalola bribed and corrupted the Supreme Court justices.
Farotimi was the spokesperson of LP.
LP, couldn’t get party agents at the polling booths.

Farotimi blamed INEC, INEC staff, and IREV.
LP went to court challenging Tinubu’s graduation and drug dealings.
LP had no evidence to prove electoral victory. Yet, Farotimi abuses the Appeal and Supreme Courts.

F00LS will always applaud F00LS!
Farotimi made criminal defamation of Afe Babalola in a book he sells in Ekiti and globally.
Afe Babalola reported to the Ekiti Police to investigate Farotimi’s criminal allegations.
The Police invited Farotimi. Farotimi declined. Farotimi is above the law!

The Police arrested Farotimi. Arraigned him before a court of competent jurisdiction. The court Remands Farotimi in prison.
The “nattering nitwits” wonder why the Police should be involved in a criminal investigation!?
The “headless mob” wonders why a book published in Lagos should attract a court case in Ekiti!?

We know our Judiciary is corrupt. Farotimi has his golden opportunity to expose the Judiciary.
But the thing is, there are F00LS everywhere. Very soon, Farotimi will send friends to beg Afe Babalola.

Afe Babalola is Obidient!
Farotimi is Obidient!
It is a family matter to be swept under the carpet.
Mad pipu everywhere!!”
End of quote.

Neither the god of law or the mortal in its practice is prepared for what the exuberance of political fans and their penchant for insults may bring about in this case. Retrials in magnitude beyond the imagination of even Dele Farotimi who has seen no need to zero the book he started writing before 2023 elections to facts and evidence of judicial corruption provided by the election. Nor, Chief Afe Babalola whose interests or antecedents in relationship doesn’t suggest deliberate or tactical support for the declared winner of 2023 election.

This for me is Moriah, the hill of the Lord; where Dele Farotimi is the lamb in whose hand is also the knife for slaughter. If Dele is not afraid to offer himself as the sacrificial lamb at the altar of Justice; from the Moriah of this trial will one day rise a new temple of Justice, discovered by a David and to be built by a wise man in his generation like Solomon.

Dele is looking like a compression of Issac, David and Solomon in whom the promise of a new nation may find expression. For at the heart of everything bedeviling Nigeria is the perversion of the priests in our temple of Justice. May Nigeria be saved.

Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.

Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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