The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, has said Afe Babalola is free to pursue criminal or civil action against human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.
Henzodaily reported that an Ekiti State Magistrate Court refused to grant bail to Farotimi, on Wednesday, on a case of alleged defamation of Babalola in the human rights lawyer’s book titled ‘Nigeria and Criminal Justice System’.
Temitope Ajayi said most Nigerians are deceived to assume their rights and freedom under the law are absolute.
He explained that rights and freedom are not without responsibility. He stated that Babalola has the right to pursue either civil or criminal cases against Farotimi depending on the punishment he desires.
“Are you the one to determine a course of action an injured person takes to seek redress. Chief Afe Babalola is free to determine if he wants to pursue civil defamation action or criminal. The laws permit either based on the level of punishment he wants to get.
“What this warped and wrong notions of freedom mean is that people are being misled to assume their rights and freedom under law are absolute and they can be reckless and unhinged without consequences,” Ajayi wrote on his X handle.