The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Justice, has paid approximately N1.1 billion as professional fees to prominent Nigerian lawyers, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and 23 other law firms over a period of three years. This revelation emerged from an analysis of data provided by GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s …

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed excitement over the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approval of the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport. The governor disclosed that following the NCAA’s approval, the Ekiti Airport will from January be open to landing by private jets. The governor spoke on Wednesday when he paid a thank-you visit to elder statesman and …

Human rights lawyer and activist, Mr. Dele Farotimi has said that he did not ask anyone to plead with Aare Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who took him to court for defamation. Farotimi is currently standing trial in Ekiti State following a petition by Babalola regarding his book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System. The 2023 presidential candidate …

Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others but remains more of a slave than they are – Jean-Jacques Rousseau One of the (once-upon-a-time) immovable pillars of our justice system is that a man is presumed innocent until otherwise proven. The man so accused is therefore allowed all his rights …

The question of whether the law of defamation is a hindrance to freedom of speech and a curtailment to democratic process confronted the Burkinabe, a few years ago. Lohe Issa Konaté was Burkina Faso, that landlocked West African country’s own Dele Farotimi. He was a journalist with the newspaper, L’Ouragan (The Hurricane). Like a tempestuous hurricane, on 1 August, 2012, …

On Friday, 18 October, Ado-Ekiti, under the leadership of our baba, His Majesty, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejuyigbe, Aladesanmi III, rolled out the drums to celebrate the first Afe Babalola Day.  This was to honour Aare Afe Babalola, the city’s famous son, who is the Founder/Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD). For many decades now, Babalola, 95 on 30 October, …

The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, on Wednesday, lampooned some wives of state governors for their preference for attending parties to human capital development. Babalola, who spoke in Ado Ekiti in reaction to the offer by the wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, to teach ABUAD students and give them academic mentorship, …

Founder of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola on Thursday reiterated his commitment to transforming the education sector in Nigeria. At a meeting with the Assistant Commandant-General (Training and Manpower Development) of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), David Abi, and his entourage, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Babalola also said that the major problem that Nigeria …

The Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUD), Aare Afe Babalola has criticised the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed for closing all universities in Nigeria during the general elections on the orders of the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu. Babalola, who said that neither the Minister nor the NUC boss had such …

The Emir of Ilorin Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari has rejoiced with the proprietor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola, on his 93rd birthday, describing the Senior Advocate of Nigeria as a “distinguished global citizen of all seasons”. The Emir, who is also the Chairman of Kwara State Council of Chiefs, noted that Babalola is one of the highly respected …