Socialist Workers League unequivocally calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Dele Farotimi and the dropping of all trumped-up charges against him. Farotimi’s arrest in Lagos by police officers from the Ekiti State command of the Nigeria Police Force in Lagos is clearly a case of judicial kidnapping. The video recording and eye witness report of this judicial kidnap also show the extent of brutality with which this was carried out. This is absolutely unacceptable. And his subsequent incarceration is a slap on the face of any facade of justice that the Nigerian judicial system can lay claim to.
It is no secret that the 95-year-old Afe Babalola who is a senior advocate of Nigeria is behind the travails of Dele Farotimi. That a single capitalist could wield such power over the judiciary, due to his wealth, reflects the shameless lumpen nature of the ruling class in Nigeria. We have always pointed out the simple fact which working-class people should know about the law: it basically represents the political will of the ruling class. The law is not primarily meant to defend the poor masses.
The courts and the law safeguard the exploitative system of capitalism. To do this successfully and in a sustained manner, the ruling class has to give a semblance of the impartiality of the law. That is the truth behind the so-called fundamental place of the “rule of law” in capitalist democracy, which itself is a democracy of the rich people by the rich people for the rich people, while giving the impression that the poor masses have a say in how they run society. We do not, except when we fight.
But behind this facade of justice lies the corrupt exercise of power by the likes of Babalola and the travesty of justice. But they win only when we do not fight. Dele Farotimi has called them out in his book. Afe Babalola wants to smother the seeds of resistance to a farcical judicial system which Farotimi’s book might sow. That is the reason for this witchhunt.
We must stand up as one to resist Afe Babalola and the band of crooks and oppressors ruling us. We demand:
- Immediate and unconditional release of Dele Farotimi
- Dropping of all charges levied against him, forthwith
- The prosecution of everybody involved in this decadent impunity in the exercise of power including the police officers that came to arrest Farotimi, the top officials that ordered them in the Ekiti State police command, the concerned judge in Ekiti state, and Mr Afe Babalola.
It is not enough to merely make demands. We all have to be the streets. SWL salutes the Take It Back (TIB) movement for its mobilisation for concrete action, providing leadership on the streets for revolutionary forces as it has done for the past six years. We thus fully support the series of demonstrations called by TIB in Ado-Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja and across the world on 10 December 2024. SWL members will join and actively participate in these demonstrations. We urge working people, youths and all who are ready to stand up against the oppressive system and its criminal justice system to join the rallies and our struggle for a better society.
Kunle ‘Wizeman’ Ajayi Amara Nwosu
National Chairperson National Secretary
