Kehinde Fajobi
Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has criticised Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, for visiting legal icon Chief Afe Babalola to allegedly seek forgiveness for activist lawyer Dele Farotimi over ongoing court cases.
Obi, accompanied by Sola Ebiseni, the Labour Party’s candidate in the 2024 Ondo governorship election, met with Babalola on Monday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
During the two-hour meeting, Obi reportedly appealed to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to drop criminal defamation and cybercrime charges against Farotimi.
Farotimi’s charges stem from allegations in his book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, where he accused Babalola of influencing Supreme Court judges.
While the Magistrates’ Court had previously remanded Farotimi, the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti granted him bail on Monday, setting the sum at ₦50 million.
Reacting on Tuesday via his X handle, Sowore condemned Obi’s visit, arguing it undermined efforts to tackle corruption within Nigeria’s judiciary.
He likened Obi’s actions to compromising the struggle for justice.
“I condemn those who went to ‘beg’ Chief Afe Babalola today over the unjust detention and persecution of @DeleFarotimi; the delegation led by @PeterObi did colossal injustice to the struggle to drain the swamp of judicial criminality in our country,” Sowore wrote.
He added, “Obi’s action is like forcing Rosa Parks to return to the back of the bus of racial injustice during the civil rights era in the US! The struggle continues.”
Sowore had earlier called for protests against the handling of Farotimi’s case in Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, and London.