Lawyer Calls Out Journalist Over inaccurate Reporting On Dele Farotimi’s Case

A lawyer representing Dele Farotimi, Taiwo Adedeji, has called out Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, a celebrated journalist and regular participant on the Journalist Hangout TV programme, over inaccurate reporting on Farotimi’s case.

In a statement, Adedeji expressed his disappointment with the inaccurate reportage, stating.

“I just watched through the YouTube, a recorded edition of the Journalist Hangout, a TVC programme that has a celebrated Journalist, Mr Babajide Kolade-Otitoju as one of the regular participants. In the episode in question, the participants were discussing the current issues around the detention of Mr Farotimi.”

Adedeji specifically took issue with Kolade-Otitoju’s assertion that Dele Farotimi’s lead counsel, Mr Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), was made to step down because as “SAN, he was not supposed to appear before a small court”. Adedeji stated,

“That is not correct at all. Mr Olumide-Fusika(SAN) voluntarily stepped down when it became apparent that the issue of whether as a senior advocate he could appear before a Magistrate Court in a criminal case was rather taking whole day and the Learned Magistrate already indicated his unwillingness to resolve the issue on that day.”

Adedeji further clarified, “Mr Olumide-Fusika(SAN) therefore suggested that he would step down temporarily and asked me to lead the team. Reporting it that he was ‘made to step down because as SAN he was not supposed to appear before a Small Court’ is with respect false. That also suggested that a decision was reached which disqualified the learned silk from appearing. The Magistrate Court was yet to rule on that.”

Adedeji also denied claims that issues of faulty procedures were raised against their bail application, stating, “It is also very untrue to suggest as suggested by Kolade-Otitoju and the Journalist Hangout crew that issues of faulty procedures were raised against our bail application. Nothing like that happened.”

He concluded by expressing his disappointment with the inaccurate reportage, stating, “Mr Kolade-Otitoju went ahead to compare Dele Farotimi’s case to Yahaya Bello’s case which he stated as another example of procedural errors by lawyers. This is a most unfair reportage.”