Relying on the laws of the land and a reputation built over the cause of six decades, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chief Afe Babalola, has said that he will not be cowed by media tactics or street yelling over the ongoing trial of Lagos lawyer, Mr Dele Farotimi.
In a statement issued on his behalf by his law firm, Afe Babalola & Co, and signed by Adebayo Adenipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, the senior lawyer said his legal action against Farotimi, a human rights advocate, was meant to address the “falsity of his allegations and hold him accountable for his actions.”
Babalola said that in the course of his legal practice, he and his law firm had lost cases to several lawyers who prevailed against them in court, pointing out that this fact disproves Farotimi’s “wild accusations” and indicates that at the end of the day, “only the law will matter, not media tactics or street yelling.”
The statement read, “We acknowledge several concerns and suggestions on this subject and the inference that the firm and its members would be better served by ignoring these published falsehoods.
“However, if we do not take any action to correct the false, reckless, and malicious statements by this author, our silence will necessarily be interpreted as an admission of guilt.
“Afe Babalola & Co is a law-abiding organisation that operates strictly within the law. We are aware of the implications of the steps we are taking and the possibility of spin and manipulation by this author, his acolytes, uninformed members of the public, and others who, like him, view us maliciously.
“Still, we are convinced that the legal steps we take now and in the future are the only way to address the falsity of the author’s allegations and hold him to account for his deliberate assault on the integrity and reputation that our founder, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CFR, SAN, LLD, has built and passed on to us over the past seven decades, using nothing but hard work, legal knowledge, and trenchant advocacy.
“The constitution recognises fundamental human rights, and our firm has championed these rights in over sixty years of its existence.
“However, these rights are not absolute; the freedom to speak is not freedom from consequences of speech. And the subject of speech also has a fundamental right to hold the speaker accountable using lawful means.
“Since the matter is sub judice, we do not intend to join issues in the media on the merits of our complaints or the strength of evidence against Mr. Farotimi.
“Unlike him, we believe in the justice delivery system every time – not only when it favours us.”
