Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has told Nigerian legal icon, Afe Babalola, not to allow the alleged defamation case of Nigerian lawyer cum activist, Dele Farotimi, to define his legacy built for over six decades in the legal profession.
Henzodaily reports that Effiong spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s programme, ‘Inside Sources with Laolu Akande.
According to him, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria at his age is mindful of a sense of history and legacy; however, not every offence requires the use of the sledgehammer.
Effiong said criminal defamation is not a serious offense that requires a person to spend years in prison.
He said, “The name Afe Babalola is an institution in this country. I don’t know if there’s a lawyer today older than him or a senior advocate. I mean he’s a father of senior advocates so I would have thought, and I say this with all sense of responsibility and humility, that at that age, he’s mindful of a sense of history and legacy.
“I don’t want this to define him. This case should not be his legacy. If I get to the age of 80, if God preserves my life and I get to the age of 80 and 85, I’ll be circumspect. It is not every offense that I’ll use a sledgehammer, that I will invoke institutions of state no matter how offensive what said was.
“I mean even if assuming you were to be convicted, it’s not an offense that you will spend years in prison. One year, maybe two, so it’s not like a serious felony that you will spend 17 years so.”
Effiong also slammed the police for their harassment of Farotimi, stressing that they are incapable of reforms.
He added, “I’m not surprised that the police will do what they did. The police in Nigeria are incapable of reform. The police are not reformable and I said that without apology… The police in Nigeria has been privatised.
“I was reading a publication where the IG (Inspector General) is saying that the judiciary is sick and weak the same police that has made the judiciary sick and weak the same IG whose institution is not obeying court orders, is detaining Nigerians illegally? The police are the major culprit of the bastardisation of our judicial process, the bastardisation of our correctional service so we need to be careful.
“It looks like those who are going after Dele Farotimi are determined to vindicate him because if a man is coming out to speak in a very acerbic language about the institution that is a member, the judiciary, I would have thought that the same judiciary should be self-aware that it’s not only this person that is on trial and should be mindful to avoid anything that will give us a semblance of impropriety because if somebody is accusing the judiciary of wrongdoing.”