By: Our Correspondent
Ahead of Tuesday's hearing of the defamation charge against Dele Farotimi, the Lagos-based legal practitioner has filed a preliminary objection asking the Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court to strike out the suit. The preliminary objection, dated December 9, 2024, was filed through his lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, leading 19 others.
The objection was brought under various sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2014, and the Magistrates Courts Law of Ekiti State.
Farotimi's counsel argued that the charge before the magistrate court is unknown to law, non-existent, and that the magistrate acted without jurisdiction on an incompetent charge. The five grounds of the objection include that the 16- count charge refers to alleged offenses contrary to and punishable under the "Criminal Code Act," which has been replaced and repealed by the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
Furthermore, Farotimi's counsel argued that the crime of defamation alleged in the charge is unknown to and non-existent in the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021. The defence team, led by Olumide-Fusika, also includes three other senior advocates: Festus Emiri, Bamidele Ibirinke, Segun Ololade, and 16 other legal practitioners.
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