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“I’m still battling four lawsuits from Afe Babalola’s firm – Farotimi
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi, on Sunday, said he was still battling four suits by Afe Babalola law firm.
Farotimi revealed this while speaking during the Toyin Falola Interviews on Sunday.
Farotimi’s disclosure comes after the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), on January 27, agreed to withdraw the cases instituted against Farotimi.
Following Afe Babalola’s petition to the police commissioner in Ekiti State that Farotimi defamed him in a book titled ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,’ the police arrested the activist lawyer and arraigned him before two courts in Ekiti.
Consequently, Farotimi stood trial for alleged criminal defamation before an Ekiti State Magistrate Court, Ado Ekiti District and as well for alleged cyber-bullying before the Ado Ekiti Division of Federal High Court.
Babalola had announced his withdrawal of the case against Farotimi citing the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other top traditional rulers.
But featuring on Sunday’s conversation, with the theme: “Politics, Law and Society,” Farotimi disclosed that while the police had withdrawn criminal charges against him following Babalola’s petition withdrawal, he still faced four civil suits across different states, all filed by members of Babalola’s law office.
“My inability to speak to certain aspects of this issue is borne out of the fact that, despite the discontinuation of the criminal proceeding, I still have four suits that I am aware of, in four different states of the federation, filed by members of the same law office, against my person,” he revealed.
Farotimi emphasised that his book was not written in a moment of idle talk or baseless accusations but rather a well-researched work documenting his experiences and observations about the Nigerian judicial system.
“I did not sit down in a beer parlour; I was not at an officers’ mess; I was not gossiping. It was not idle, cheap talk. I wrote a book,” he declared. “Let us deal with veracity. Anybody can go and read and then come back and challenge me with the lie that I have told.”
Dismissing claims that the controversy surrounding his book is a personal battle, Farotimi insisted that what is on trial is not his reputation, but the Nigerian legal system itself.
“This is not a trial of Dele Farotimi. Let nobody make that error. It is a trial of the legal system that we have built as a collective,” he asserted.
He reaffirmed that his controversial book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, is not an attack on individuals, particularly legal luminary Chief Afe Babalola, but rather a critique of systemic corruption within the judiciary.
He stressed that his work was written in pursuit of justice, not personal vendettas.
“Chief Afe Babalola is more than old enough to be my father,” Farotimi said. “I did not set out to destroy the man or to tarnish his image. Nothing personal. I was writing about the institution of the judiciary.”
Speaking, Farotimi maintained that his critique aimed at institutional failings rather than individuals.
Multiple names were mentioned in the book, and offices were mentioned. I did not set out to libel anybody,” he explained. “I simply told the truth of what I saw. All I did was write a book. Maybe we have become too accustomed to lies and allergic to truth, to the point where telling the truth has become a sin.”
According to him, Nigerians must engage with uncomfortable truths if the country is to experience meaningful reform. “We have built a system that rewards deception and punishes truth. I am being sued not because I have lied, but because I have dared to speak the truth.”
Farotimi also criticized those who dismissed his book without reading it, labelling their actions as intellectually lazy.
“Ninety per cent of the persons criticizing me for whatever they believe my tactics to have been in writing the book have not read the book,” he argued. “If Nigerians would stop being so philistinic and illiterate, if they would dare to read, there would be no arguments as to the proof of what I have written.”
President Bola Tinubu has assented to the 2026 Appropriation Bill, which provides for an aggregate expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion.
He also signed the bill extending the implementation period for the 2025 budget from March 31, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
This was announced on Friday in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The ₦68.32 trillion budget for this year earmarks ₦4.799 trillion for statutory transfers and ₦15.8 trillion for debt service.
It allocates ₦15.4 trillion to recurrent expenditure and ₦32.2 trillion to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure.
“With capital expenditure accounting for about 50 per cent, the 2026 budget underscores the administration’s continued commitment to economic stability, national security, infrastructure development, and inclusive growth.
The allocations reflect a strategic balance between statutory obligations, debt servicing, recurrent expenditure, and capital investments critical to driving productivity and improving the quality of life for Nigerians,” the statement read in part.
The President also has assented to the Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which extends the implementation period of the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act from March 31, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
The extension, the statement revealed, would ensure the full and effective utilisation of appropriated funds, particularly for critical infrastructure and development projects that are at advanced stages of implementation across the country.
It will enable ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to consolidate ongoing works, enhance project completion rates, and maximise value for public expenditure. With the 2026 Appropriation Act coming into force on April 1, the Federal Government will commence full implementation in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda,” it added.
Additionally, President Tinubu directed MDAs to ensure disciplined, transparent, and efficient utilisation of allocated resources, with a strong emphasis on value for money and timely project delivery.
He commended the National Assembly for its diligence, cooperation, and patriotism in expeditiously considering and passing the budget.
The President reaffirmed the importance of sustained collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government in advancing national development objectives.
Tinubu also assured Nigerians of his administration’s resolve to deepen fiscal reforms, enhance revenue generation, and prioritise investments that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and strengthen social protection mechanisms.
The budget is also expected to be partly financed through external borrowing, following the approval of a foreign loan plan exceeding $21 billion to bridge the fiscal gap.
₦9.85trn Increase
The 2026 budget represents an increase of ₦9.85 trillion over the initial proposal of ₦58.47 trillion that Tinubu submitted to the National Assembly, and ₦13.33 trillion higher than the 2025 budget.
The President had while presenting the 2025 budget proposal before federal lawmakers in December 2025, pegged the capital expenditure at ₦26.08 trillion and the crude oil benchmark at US$64.85 per barrel.
He disclosed that the expected total revenue was ₦34.33 trillion; ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing.
The proposal was anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
Amid the growing concerns over insecurity across the country, Tinubu said his administration would “invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes—because security spending must deliver security results”.
“We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural markets. Food security is national security.
“The 2026 budget prioritises input financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate‑resilient agriculture; storage and processing; and agro‑value chains,” he told the National Assembly members.
Nigeria’s budgets in recent years have come under fire with experts critcising the poor implementation and release of funds for the execution of important national projects.
But the Tinubu administration said that the 2026 national budget was well-planned to solidify the gains of its reform agenda.
“Our ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’ is critical. It is a commitment to double down on what is working, to solidify gains, and to ensure that the shared prosperity we speak of becomes a lived reality for more Nigerians, faster,” Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said in a statement.
Popular sports broadcast journalist with Classic FM 97.3, Temisan Okomi, has died.
A journalist with News Central, Olawale Adigun, confirmed his death in a statement shared on X on Friday.
He wrote on X, “The worst way to go into the weekend is hearing about Temisan Okomi’s passing. I’m so gutted and, at the same time, terrified. This man meant so much to me.”
Recall that news of his death has since stirred reactions on X, with colleagues and fans expressing shock and grief.
The late journalist had worked with Lagos Television, HiTV, and other prominent media organizations in Nigeria.
His last post on X was on April 14, 2026, when he wrote, “The Champions League is hard, man.”
Ibrahim Abdulkarim, a political associate of ex-governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has claimed that the former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has agreed to deputize the Obi in the 2027 presidential race.
He spoke during an interview on Trust TV, said the Obidients and the Kwankwassiyya Movements are already aligning towards Obi/Kwankwaso ticket.
Asked if Obi and Kwankwaso had struck a deal, Abdulkarim said “yes, I can categorically tell you that they have agreed”.
We all know that. Both the Obidients and the Kwankwassiyya Movements are aware of the agreement”.
Recall that Kwankwaso recently decamped from the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
His move stirred suspicion that the two political gladiators may have agreed to run for the 2027 presidency on a single ticket.
Just in: Tinubu assents 2026 Appropriation Bill, 2025 Budget Extension
BREAKING: Popular sports analystt, Okomi is dead
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