Global tech and retail giant Amazon has ranked a Nigerian-themed book as its number one bestseller in global politics following the arrest of its author, Dele Farotimi, on the orders of a controversial lawyer and businessman.
Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, climbed to the top spot on Amazon’s global politics bestseller list on Thursday morning after gaining traction on Wednesday afternoon, according to checks by Peoples Gazette.
The surge in demand for the book extended beyond Amazon, with a similar rush reported at bookstores across Nigeria, as citizens sought to explore its content. The global interest followed Farotimi’s arrest at the behest of 93-year-old Afe Babalola, a senior Nigerian lawyer long plagued by corruption allegations. Nigerian-themed books rarely make Amazon’s bestselling charts, making Farotimi’s achievement remarkable as it outperformed internationally acclaimed works like Why Nations Fail.
Farotimi, a retired Lagos-based lawyer, used the book to critique corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary, explicitly naming Babalola as one of the key figures contributing to the problem.
Mr Babalola “compromised the Supreme Court and the remaining semblance of integrity it might have had,” Mr Farotimi wrote while narrating a case in which the nonagenarian lawyer approached “the Supreme Court and got that court to swim in the sewer of corruption and shameful self-abnegation.”
The book, published in July 2024, reinforced longstanding public suspicions that Afe Babalola was among those tarnishing the Nigerian judiciary by bribing judges with cash and material incentives to sway rulings, from lower courts to the Supreme Court.
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Initially, the book experienced low sales after its release. However, interest surged following Dele Farotimi’s arrest by armed policemen in Lagos on Tuesday morning. He was transported to Ado Ekiti, about 300 kilometers northeast of Nigeria’s commercial hub, where Babalola is renowned as the largest employer in the region.
After being arraigned in Ekiti on Wednesday morning, a judge ordered Farotimi to remain in custody pending a bail hearing set for December 10. Police alleged that the book “was likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the public peace,” according to a charge sheet obtained by Peoples Gazette.
Babalola has long faced public criticism as one of Nigeria’s senior lawyers reputed for influencing court judgments, a practice that has eroded public confidence in the judiciary. While Babalola has repeatedly denied such allegations, some judges have decried the actions of lawyers known for undermining the judicial process by “buying” judgments. Retired Justice Dattijo Muhammad alluded to such practices but did not specifically mention Babalola.
Farotimi’s detention has sparked widespread outrage, with Nigerians demanding his immediate release while criticizing Babalola, who is widely regarded as the most influential private citizen in Ekiti State.
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