Dele Farotimi: ‘Peter Obi Did Colossal Injustice to the Struggle’ – Sowore Criticizes Visit to Afe Babalola

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticized Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi for his visit to legal luminary Aare Afe Babalola, SAN. The visit took place on Monday, shortly after a closed-door meeting between Obi and Babalola in Ekiti State.

As part of his trip, Obi also visited detained activist Dele Farotimi in prison. Farotimi was arrested in Lagos last week and arraigned before a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti on a 16-count charge of defamation against Babalola. On Friday, additional cybercrime charges were filed against him by the Nigerian police at the Federal High Court in Ekiti. Although the court granted Farotimi bail of N50 million on December 9, his legal team is still working to meet the bail conditions.

Reacting to Obi’s visit, Sowore took to his X account to express strong disapproval, accusing the Labour Party leader of undermining efforts to address judicial malpractice in Nigeria. Sowore wrote, “I condemn those who went to ‘beg’ Chief Afe Babalola today over unjust detention and persecution of Dele Farotimi. The delegation led by Peter Obi did colossal injustice to the struggle to drain the swamp of judicial criminality in our country. Obi’s action is like forcing Rosa Parks to return to the back of the bus of racial injustice during the civil rights era in the United States! The struggle continues! FreeDeleFarotimiNow.”

Reports indicate that Obi’s visit was facilitated by a prominent Yoruba leader as part of efforts to mediate a resolution to the legal conflict between Babalola and Farotimi. However, Sowore’s statement has drawn attention to the broader implications of the visit for the fight against what he described as “judicial criminality” in the country.