Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the immediate and unconditional release of human rights activist Dele Farotimi. He condemned Farotimi’s arrest as unacceptable, stating, “I have been informed that Farotimi faces defamation charges—an issue that, in normal circumstances, should not involve law enforcement.”
He criticized the police’s involvement, likening it to using a sledgehammer to kill a fly, describing it as an excessive overreach. Atiku emphasized that this arrest represents a direct assault on the fundamental rights of citizens. “The intention is evident: to intimidate and harass individuals, especially those who challenge the government and the media, thereby facilitating the emergence of a one-party state,” he added.
The detention of lawyer and human rights advocate Dele Farotimi was firmly denounced by Atiku, who remarked that it serves as a stark reminder of the oppressive days of military rule when dissent was ruthlessly suppressed.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, also called for Farotimi’s unconditional release from police custody, noting that he was arrested on charges of criminal libel. “In advocating for Mr. Farotimi’s immediate release from unlawful detention, I must assert that Lagos State is one of the two Nigerian states that have entirely decriminalized defamation,” he stated.
Falana further referenced a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Aviomoh v Commissioner of Police & Anor. (2021) LPELR-55203(SC), where Justice Helen Ogunwumiju confirmed that defamation was decriminalized in Lagos’s Criminal Law in 2011 and in Edo State’s Criminal Law Bill of 2020. He urged the Nigerian Police to exercise caution, labeling the arrest and detention of Dele Farotimi as illegal.
In the same vein, the hashtag free dele farotimi (#FREEDELEFAROTIMI) has been trending on social media since the arrest of the Lawyer activist.
