The family of human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has cried out over his whereabouts since he was arrested by the Nigerian police at Zone 2 in Lagos following a petition.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, the activist’s family said he had been driven somewhere outside Lagos by the police operatives.
“Dele Farotimi’s Whereabout is unknown since his arrest. He was driven somewhere outside Lagos,” SaharaReporters was told by family sources.
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that Farotimi raised the alarm over alleged threats to his life by some Nigerian elites in collusion with the security agencies and some legal experts.
Farotimi in the statement he personally signed and captioned, “They Want to Silence Me”, narrated how on November 11, he was informed that an invitation letter from the Zone 2, Police Command, was delivered to his office.
According to him, the letter requested that he should report to the station on November 13, at 10:00 AM.
The lawyer who said that he was accompanied by his legal counsel, noted that he arrived at the station at 9:45 AM on the stated date, and that at the station, he was presented with a petition written by a lawyer, accusing him of defamation.
“Despite finding the petition baseless, I addressed its content,” Farotimi said.
Meanwhile, Nigerian human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, on Tuesday, via his X handle, also confirmed that the lawyer’s family confirmed to him that his whereabouts were unknown.
Earlier, Sowore had condemned Farotimi’s arrest and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the human rights lawyer.
According to Sowore, “I just learned that Dele Farotimi was arrested by Nigeria Police Force over a petition by Tony Elumelu of UBA Group alleging Dele defamed him.
“It is pertinent that the Nigerian police are notified that the institution cannot continue to be used to settle personal scores, and we, the citizens of Nigeria, would no longer tolerate such a situation.
“Therefore, the Police at Zone 2 in Lagos are advised to release Barrister Farotimi immediately,” he added.
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