Justice4AfeBabalolaLegacy (JABL), a group of professors and lawyers, on Friday, said with the enormous contributions of Afe Babalola to the legal profession and the country, people should not sit by and watch him being insulted by anyone.
Members of JABL, who included Professors Adeyemi Ademowo, Ademola Azeez, Ayodeji Emmanuel, and Mr Femi Alufa and Rotimi Opeyeoluwa, said this while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan on the case between Afe Babalola and Mr Dele Farotimi.
According to them, being a human rights activist is not a licence to make unsubstantiated allegations.
The Convener and Publicity Secretary of the group, Messrs Alufa and Rotimi Opeyeoluwa explained that they wanted justice to be served to both parties at the end of the case.
Maintaining that Babalola achieved what he has today through a dint of hard work, they said, โat 96, we will not sit by and watch somebody turn around what this man has achieved through hard work.”
When asked how to undo the possible damage the published book might have done, they said since the court has banned its sale, it will be criminal for anyone to cite the book.
They said: โNobody worth his salt will cite the book because itโs not predicated on fact. One thing I have discovered in Nigeria is that we have a generation of people who become resentful of you when you are successful. Until the determination of the case, I wonโt engage in any beer parlour rumour.โ
They justified their stance on the case: โAfe has produced more SANs, and lawyers than anyone has produced in this country. We want the world to know that we believe in this man.
”If we have the resources, we can go throughout the country to tell them that Afe does not represent what this man said he is.โ
They faulted the claims of those who say that libel should be treated as a civil matter and not a criminal case as being charged.
The supporters of Afe Babalola said he reserves the right to sue for criminal libel and that itโs the court that will decide.
They stated, โIn some states in this country, libel is both civil and criminal. I think itโs civil in Edo and Abuja. People who say itโs a civil matter are mere liars. We have emergency lawyers and the only thing they have in common with the law profession is their ability to spell law. They donโt know anything about the law.
โIf Chief Afe says he wants to pursue it as a criminal defamation, it is his right. You canโt dictate to a lawyer how you want his case to be remedied. As long as itโs not extrajudicially pursued, he has the rights.
โIn this country, some things we call human rights activism are not. Human rights must not negate another personโs rights. Justice must be served Farotimi and it must be served Chief Afe Babalola.โ
