Mr Adeniran Akinwale, Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, has defended the arrest of Dele Farotimi, a human rights activist based in Lagos, for alleged cyberbullying and defamation.
While speaking with journalists on Tuesday, Akinwale claimed the alleged offences committed by Farotimi included “defamation of character, cyberstalking, and other things,” adding that those two charges were “fully established.”
He said, “We are looking into him (Farotimi). If the suspect is arrested, we will transport him for further investigation. We shall undertake an investigation and determine his level of guilt or innocence.”
The Director General of the Labour Party presidential campaign council, Akin Osuntokun, criticised the lawyer’s arrest.
He voiced alarm over the reported involvement of Chief Afe Babalola, whom he regarded as an illustrious figure.
Osuntokun stated, “I knew Dele Farotimi as a junior, and I was concerned that the police commissioner from Ekiti State would come to Lagos to arrest someone for cybercrime, which is always a pretext for whatever complaint the police have.”
Chief Afe Babalola, a prominent Nigerian citizen, is unlikely to be implicated in such an incident. Something is missing somewhere. I am not sure how the technique by which he was taken into custody is consistent with due process.
Meanwhile, Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress’ presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, decried Farotimi’s detention, claiming that the process was undemocratic.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Sowore urged the lawyer’s release while emphasising that the police should not be used to resolve personal disputes.
He tweeted, “I just met with Kunle Akinwale, Commissioner of @PoliceNG’s Ekiti State Command. He reveals that they detained @DeleFarotimi and are transporting him from Lagos to Ekiti via road.
“I informed him plainly that this was an abuse of @PoliceNG’s powers and that it was a civil case that should not have required police action. When he confirmed they were driving him from Lagos, I repeatedly asked, “Did he kill someone?” He even claimed he was still being investigated for “cybercrime.” Afe Babalola SAN, one of Nigeria’s most senior lawyers, orchestrated the illegal arrest. This is just disgusting.
Some minutes ago, the AAC presidential candidate for the 2023 elections also tweeted that the Nigerian justice system is wack, as expected @DeleFarotimi has been hurriedly prosecuted and sent to prison after being denied bail by a judge in Ado Ekiti pre-arranged to do the same.
He went further to say that the @policeng, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, and the judicial officers had it all planned out even before they sent the goons from Ekiti state command RRS (formerly SARS) to abduct him. The case adjourned till December 10, 2024.
Farotimi accused some police operators suspected of being from Ekiti of planning to arrest him over the content of a book he published in a press statement on Monday.
He further claimed that the police used many tactics that implied an attempt to abduct him rather than ask him about any matter.
