Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police, has abandoned the purported defamation complaint against novelist and lawyer Dele Farotimi of Lagos.
It was learned that the notice of discontinuance, which was filed on January 29, was in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015, Section 108 (1) (2) (a). It aims to have Mr. Farotimi’s current charge at the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti dropped.
The letter, which was signed by Samson Osubu, the police prosecutor, also stated that the police would be requesting that the court dismiss the charge because Are Afe Babalola, the nominal complainant, wanted to end the case following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians.
The parties to the case had assembled at the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti at the time this report was filed, and the prosecution had actually served the defendant’s attorney with the notice.
To formally strike out the charge, the judge has not yet sat.
