The Chief Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital on Tuesday struck out two charges against detained lawyer and rights activist Dele Farotimi.
The human rights lawyer, who was decked in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, arrived at the court at about 09:55 am on Tuesday morning.
Farotimi was arrested by the police in Lagos on Tuesday following a petition by a senior legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola. He was subsequently arraigned on defamation charges before an Ekiti State Magistrate Court last Wednesday. Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun ordered his remand in the correctional centre and set December 10 (today) for his bail hearing
Farotimi was granted bail in the sum of N50 million, with a surety of equal value who must reside in Ekiti State and possess landed property. Additionally, he was required to submit his travel passport to the court.
Giving an update on the case, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore in a post he shared on X disclosed that the initial counts of 16 have been reduced to 14.
The post read, “🚨UPDATE: The prosecution has now served the defendant, @DeleFarotimi, with an amended charge, reducing the initial 16 counts to 14 counts, ALL of which the defendant, @DeleFarotimi, has pleaded NOT guilty to. #DeleFarotimi #FreeDeleFarotimiNow #HumanRights”