A judge at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, Peter Kekemeke, has directed the police and other security agencies to seize physical copies of lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi’s book, alleged to contain defamatory content about prominent Nigerian lawyer Afe Babalola, wherever they may be found.
The judge gave the order on Wednesday, followingan application by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and managing partner at Afe Babalola & Co.
In the substantive suit yet to be heard, Mr Ogunwumiju wants the court to direct Mr Farotimi to pay N500 million in damages for allegedly defaming him, the law firm, and its other lawyers in the book.
The book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’, an unfiltered, freewheeling critical account of Mr Farotimi about the Nigerian judiciary, is at the centre of Mr Ogunwumiju’s N500 million civil libel case, as well as two criminal cases alleging defamation against Mr Babalola, his law firm, and its associates.
Mr Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), filed the petition prompting the police last week to charge Mr Farotimi with criminal defamation at a chief magistrate’s court and cybercrime violations at the Federal High Court, both located in Ado Ekiti.
On Wednesday, Mr Kekemeke, issued an ex parte order – granted without a hearing from the respondent, Mr Farotimi, stopping the distribution and advertisement of the book, following Mr Ogunwumiju’s request.
The judge issued an order of interim injunction directing the Nigerian Police Force, State Security Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSDC) and all other security agencies to seize all physical copies of the book wherever they may be found “worldwide” pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory.
He also temporarily restrained the defendant, Mr Farotimi, publishers, his agents, Amazon Online Bookstore, and other bookstores, “from further publishing, selling, circulating, advertising, or distributing the physical/ hard/ digital/ soft copies of the book” online, electronically, physically or by any other means including social media.
Others specifically mentioned in the two orders and barred from further publishing, circulating, advertising or distributing copies of the book are Dele Farotimi publishers, RovingHeights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore and Patabah Books Limited.
The management of RovingHeights Bookstore informed PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday morning that they had immediately complied with the court order by immediately stopping the sale of the book.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the suit came after the book has gained tremendous traction, reaching a top spot on Amazon’s bestseller list within days of cascading police actions against Mr Farotimi following Mr Babalola’s petition last week.
PDF copies of the book, which was launched in July, have also circulated widely in the last one week of its newly found popularity.
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