Take It Back Movement protests Farotimi’s detention despite police ban

The Take It Back Movement (TIB) has vowed to proceed with planned protests across multiple cities, including Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, London, and Canada, in response to the detention of human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi on defamation charges.

This decision comes despite a directive by the Ekiti State Police Command banning unlawful gatherings, demonstrations, and the use of fireworks over public safety concerns.

In a statement issued on Friday, Ekiti police spokesperson Abutu Sunday cited intelligence reports indicating plans to exploit protests to incite violence, declaring any such gatherings “unacceptable.”

However, TIB’s National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, dismissed the ban, insisting the police lacked legal grounds to prohibit peaceful protests.

Farotimi’s arrest stems from a defamation complaint filed by Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), founder of Afe Babalola University, over allegations in Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System.

Babalola, speaking through his lawyers at a press conference, maintained that the legal action was necessary to protect his reputation. Following his arrest in Lagos, Farotimi was arraigned at an Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court, which ordered his remand until December 10, 2024, as police filed additional cybercrime charges linked to comments he made on a podcast.

Meanwhile, TIB, founded by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, has framed the protests as a stand against “the impunity of the Nigeria Police and the conspiracy of the judiciary.”

A flyer circulating online called for demonstrations on Tuesday, December 10, under the banner “Nationwide/Global Protest Against the Judiciary.”

Sowore, in a social media post, urged citizens to join the protests, writing, “An unjust act of oppression cannot stand, no matter how ‘well presented’ under the colour of law. On December 10, the people intoxicated by power will be confronted by the power of the people!”

The planned demonstrations aim to highlight broader concerns about judicial and police accountability in Nigeria, with TIB promising a peaceful but resolute response to perceived injustices.