Alleged Defamation: We’re Solidly Behind Afe Babalola — Profs, Lawyers

• Insist justice must prevail for Senior lawyer

A Group of professors and lawyers, under the aegis of Justice4AfeBabalolaLegacy (JABL) on Thursday insisted that well-meaning Nigerians should not sit by and watch Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) being insulted by anyone given his enormous contributions of Afe Babalola to the legal profession and the country.

Parading notable names like Professors Adeyemi Ademowo, Ademola Azeez, Ayodeji Emmanuel, Mr Femi Alufa, and Rotimi Opeyeoluwa among others, JABL describes Afe as a man who achieved what he has today through a dint of hard work

The group, which spoke to newsmen in Ibadan on the case between Afe Babalola and Mr Dele Farotimi, stated that being a human rights activist is not a license to make unsubstantiated allegations.

According to the Convener and Publicity Secretary of JABL, Messrs Alufa, and Rotimi Opeyeoluwa, they want justice to be served to both parties at the end of the case, saying; “At 96, we will not sit by and watch somebody turn around what this man has achieved through hard work.”

On how to undo the possible damage the published book might have caused to the looming image of the founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Ado-Ekiti, JABL said since the Court has already banned its sale, it will be criminal for anyone to cite the book.

“Nobody worth his salt will cite the book because it’s not predicated on fact. One thing I have discovered in Nigeria is that we have a generation of people who become resentful of you when you are successful. Until the determination of the case, I won’t engage in any beer parlour rumour”, the body said.

Further justifying their stance to support the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on the case, JABL stated thus; “Afe has produced more SANs, and lawyers than anyone has produced in this country. We want the world to know that we believe in this man. If we have the resources, we can go throughout the country to tell them that Afe does not represent what this man said he is.”

While also dismissing the arguments that libel should be treated as a civil matter and not a criminal case being charged, Afe Babalola’s supporters maintained that the ABUAD’s founder reserves the right to sue for criminal libel, stressing that only the Court can decide otherwise.

They further submitted thus; “In some states in this country, libel is both Civil and criminal. I think it’s civil in Edo and Abuja. People who say it’s a civil matter are mere liars. We have emergency lawyers and the only thing they have in common with the Law profession is their ability to spell Law. They don’t know anything about the Law.

“If Chief Afe says he wants to pursue it as a criminal defamation, it is his right. You can’t dictate to a lawyer how you want his case to be remedied. As long as it’s not extrajudicially pursued, he has the rights.

“In this country, some things we call human rights activism are not. Human rights must not negate another person’s rights. Justice must be served Farotimi and it must be served Chief Afe Babalola”.