On Wednesday, Justice Peter Kekemeke of the Federal High Court in Abuja directed multiple security agencies across the country to seize copies of Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System by Dele Farotimi from bookstores.
The ruling came after an ex parte application filed by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and managing partner at Afe Babalola’s Emmanuel Chambers. Afe Babalola, a senior lawyer, was behind Farotimi’s arrest in Lagos on December 2, utilizing police officers from Ekiti State.
Following the arrest, demand for Farotimi’s book surged, making it a bestseller on the Amazon e-commerce platform.
According to Channels Television, the Nigeria Police Force, the State Security Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have been ordered to inform the court of their compliance with the directive within 72 hours of receiving the enrollment of the order.
The bookstores listed in the application include Amazon Online Bookstore, Dele Farotimi Publishers, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, and Patabah Books Limited.
Rovingheights Bookstore informed FIJ on Wednesday that the book was out of stock. “Good afternoon. It’s out of stock,” the bookstore replied to a WhatsApp inquiry.
In his court application, Ogunwumiju requested, “An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Defendant/Respondent, whether acting by himself, his staff, employees, servants, privies, representatives, agents, publishers, distributors, sellers, re-publishers, re-sellers, or any other person howsoever described including Amazon Online Bookstore, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore and Patabah Books Limited from further publishing, selling, circulating, advertising, or distributing the physical/hard/digital/soft copies of the book authored by the Defendant/Respondent titled: ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, online, electronically, physically or by any other means including social media, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
Additionally, he requested, “An order of interlocutory injunction directing the seizure of all physical copies of the book authored by the Defendant/Respondent titled: ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, wherever they may be found including at Dele Farotimi Publishers, Rovingheights Bookstore, Booksellers Bookstore, Jazzhole Lagos Bookstore, Glendora Bookshop, Quintessence Lagos Bookstore and Patabah Books Limited worldwide by the Nigerian Police Force, State Security Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp and all other security agencies pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction dated and filed on the 6th day of December 2024.”
Farotimi is currently facing multiple criminal and civil cases based on the contents of his book, in which he accuses Babalola of corrupting some justices of the Supreme Court and building his reputation on corruption.
After Farotimi’s arrest, the police swiftly arraigned him and had him remanded in an Ekiti prison. New cases have been filed against him by lawyers associated with Babalola.
For example, Justice Mufutau Adegbola of an Oyo State High Court granted a similar order to prevent the author or any of his agents from producing the book.
Adebayo Adenipekun, affiliated with Babalola, initiated the case through an ex parte application on Monday. The case is set for hearing on January 7, 2025.
These cases are separate from the one filed by the Inspector General of Police before a Federal High Court in Ekiti on Friday.
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