16 hours ago
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Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force have reportedly arrested prominent human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, sparking controversy and calls for his immediate release.
The arrest was disclosed by Omoyele Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, via his X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday. Sowore condemned the arrest, asserting that the police should not serve as tools for settling personal grievances.
“I have just spoken to the family of @DeleFarotimi, and they stated his whereabouts are unknown to them since a contingent of @PoliceNG officers raided his home and abducted him earlier today from Lagos after seizing mobile devices of everyone present,” Sowore wrote. “They raised suspicion that his current ordeal might have been as a result of efforts by Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, who had laid siege on him since last week, tracking his every move using @PoliceNG from Ekiti Command.”
Sowore further revealed that Farotimi was recently invited twice to the Zone 2 police formation in Lagos to answer petitions allegedly filed against him by Tony Elumelu, owner of UBA Group. “Today, his location is unknown, and the Nigeria police is yet to reveal what happened to him,” Sowore added.
When contacted, the Zone 2 Command spokesperson, SP Ummar Ayuba, denied the lawyer’s arrest, stating, “We did not make any arrest. He is not in our custody.”
However, the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeniran Akinwale, confirmed the arrest, alleging that Farotimi was being investigated for offences including defamation and cyberstalking. In a statement with Punch Newspaper, Akinwale stated, “Those two [defamation and cyberstalking] are fully established. That was why we have been looking for him before we were able to arrest him. We are investigating him and will determine his level of culpability after thorough investigation.”
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