The old man and the book, by Wale Bakare

Sometime in May 2018, Daniel Hubbard, a Texas Policeman stopped a woman who was driving erratically on the suspicion that she was driving under the influence. He booked and processed her, and as far as he was concerned, that was the end of the matter. He was however sorely mistaken. The following day, he received a notice from the lawyer of the woman accusing him of requesting sexual favours from her in exchange for letting her off the hook. The allegation was also released to the media which went wild with the news, painting Hubbard in the worst possible light as a corrupt Police Officer. He had to face an investigation during which he was continually vilified in the media and his reputation in ruined despite his strenuous denial of the allegation. He stood condemned in the court of public opinion and despite the fact that evidence from both his bodycam and the dashcam during the arrest and afterwards proved that he had acted professionally all through and there was no merit to the woman’s allegations which had been made out of sheer mischief, his reputation, and that of the Police Department was badly damaged.

Lately, Social Media has been agog with the story of how a lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi was arrested in Lagos and conveyed to Ekiti where he was charged for multiple offences including criminal defamation, cyberbullying, and intentionally transmitting false information. Unsurprisingly, the matter has captured the imagination of the public and this can be traced directly to the characters involved in the drama. Farotimi, a lawyer, is a very well-known activist, whose popularity is driven by his outspokenness and often confrontational (and controversial) positions on governance and other social issues. Never shy to speak his mind publicly, his recent foray into politics as a supporter and adviser of the Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the last election also endeared him to a significant section of the youth population who are very active on social media. Ironically, Afe Babalola also shared a preference for the same candidate. It is therefore a bit surprising that some have somehow imputed a political colouration into the unfolding drama.

On the other side (and at the receiving end) is Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and promoter of the Afe Babalola University. I don’t think any further introduction of Afe Babalola is necessary. Dele Farontimi had in a recently published book made several allegations against Afe Babalola, accusing him of corrupting the Justices of the Supreme Court and perverting the course of justice. He was quite specific in his accusations, and not merely making suggestions or innuendoes. Hear him: “he corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgment in the service of his clients”. Not ‘maybe’, not ‘might have’. It was a firm, unambiguous declaration which could only have been made with the confidence provided by the possession of proof. This was repeated several times in his book and in other forms of broadcast. I am sure Farotimi, being a lawyer, would not have committed these words into writing without the evidence to back them up.
What should have been a straight forward matter has however, in the typical Nigerian manner, become a circus, with everybody and their pet monkey having an opinion on it, no matter how ill-informed. While there are issues relating to the case that are in the realm of conjecture and some which will be yet determined by the courts which, ironically, could go as high as the Supreme Court which itself is one of the institutions Farotimi accused of corruption, there are some facts which cannot (or should not be) contested.

One of the most commonly shared fallacies is that this is a civil wrong and not a crime and it should have been treated as such by the aggrieved. Section 391 of the Nigerian Criminal Code makes it a crime to publish or circulate a false statement to damage someone’s reputation, with the intention of harming their reputation or causing them financial loss. I believe publishing a book where alleged false statements are made fits under this legal provision.
The Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc Act of 2015 makes it a crime to use electronic devices or social media to defame or harass someone. The interview he granted to Seun Okinbaloye’s podcast, which has been shared all over the world fits snugly into the pocket of this provision to my non-legal mind. The only defense against these two legal provisions is simply to provide evidence that what you have alleged is the truth. Simple enough, isn’t it? Unfortunately, in Nigeria, nothing is ever as simple as it should be. I am amazed that even some lawyers who should know this are suggesting that Afe Babalola should have sued Farotimi instead of reporting to the appropriate authorities that a crime has been committed and inviting them to carry out their constitutionally prescribed responsibility. True, Afe Babalola had the option of filing a civil suit rather than report Farotimi’s actions as a crime but does that make them any less a crime (if he is found guilty) just because the aggrieved chose not to go with the softer option?

A popular narrative, driven by pro-Farotimi commentators is that he was ‘kidnapped’, ‘abducted’, ‘spirited’ away from Lagos by Afe Babalola to Ekiti? This is strange. There has never been any doubt as to the whereabouts of Farotimi or who had him in their custody. He was arrested by the Nigeria Police which is the Agency vested with the power to do so ANYWHERE in Nigeria. He was not knocked unconscious and illegally extracted from a foreign country in a crate only to wake up and find himself in Afe Babalola’s backyard. He was arrested by the police, processed and charged to court. The court, in the exercise of its powers fixed a date for trial and ordered that he be remanded in the custody of the government, not in Afe Babalola’s house. So what is the basis for all the vitriol being directed against the old man? Was he supposed to see such weighty allegations made against him in permanent form (a book, no less) and just shake his head and say “omokomo ni boy Dele yi sha” (this Dele boy is such a rascal)? Silence, they say, means consent. Ironically, criticism of the arrest of Farotimi has come from a man who himself was seriously ‘slandered’ in a book written by his boss of eight years but whom he neither reported to the Police nor sued. Why? Could it be because he was afraid that evidence would be presented in court to back up the allegations? Well, he will continue defending those allegations every four years for the rest of his life as long as he keeps contesting for President.

Afe Babalola does not have the luxury of time. He is 95 years old. His accuser is 56. Dele can afford a long-drawn process. Maybe that is what he banked on. Babalola can not. If Afe Babalola sues Farotimi in civil court, he is unlikely to get his name cleared (if he is indeed innocent) before he dies. The case automatically ends at his demise and a reputation built over 60 years of practicing law is then left in tatters, for generations to come. If on the other hand he is guilty of what he has been accused of, Nigerians deserve to punish him with opprobrium while he is still alive. By the way, in response to those who think the criminal option was ‘too much’, I say: how many people, seeing their life’s work being undone and have the opportunity of two routes of redress would choose the one that is more beneficial to their traducer?

Personally, I am happy that this is going to trial, and I expect all Nigerians to be happy about it too. The general belief, reinforced by people like Dele is that our judiciary is corrupt all the way to the Supreme Court. This is an opportunity to blow it all wide open under oath and in open court. Instead of opposing the trial, Nigerians should insist that the Police and the judiciary should speedily commence the trial and let the accused have his day in court. Any attempt by Afe Babalola to listen to pleas to withdraw his petition and end the case should be resisted by Nigerians vigorously. This might be the catalyst needed to end the ‘corruption’ in the system. That, afterall, is what Dele has been fighting for, isn’t it?

–Bakare is a public affairs analyst