LPDC rejects Afe Babalola’s request to debar Farotimi

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) has dismissed a request from Chief Afe Babalola’s (SAN) law firm, Emmanuel Chambers, to revoke the law practice license of lawyer and author, Tomilola Farotimi, also known as Dele Farotimi, following allegations of criminal defamation and professional misconduct.

Farotimi was brought before the LPDC following a petition filed by Ola Faro, a lawyer in Emmanuel Chambers, which claimed that Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and Criminal Justice System, contained defamatory statements about the Supreme Court and the legal profession.

However, the LPDC concluded that the alleged offences occurred while Farotimi was acting as an author, not in his capacity as a legal practitioner.

The committee determined it lacked jurisdiction over complaints regarding publications and advised the aggrieved parties to seek redress through regular courts.

Justice Isaq Usman Bello, LPDC Chairman, affirmed that the petition could not be granted due to jurisdictional limitations.

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The book in question reportedly referenced a Supreme Court case involving corruption and unethical practices among judicial officers, as well as actions that allegedly distorted case facts and undermined justice.

Emmanuel Chambers accused Farotimi of disrespecting fellow lawyers and engaging in actions for personal gain. They claimed that his book violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal

Practitioners 2023 and called for Farotimi’s removal from the Roll of Legal Practitioners.

In response, the LPDC’s report stated: “The publication is an intellectual property and not an action committed while practising as a Legal Practitioner. All aggrieved parties who find the publication ‘defamatory’ should pursue their grievances in the regular courts.”