Former presidential spokesman Laolu Akande is concerned about the reputation of legal icon Aare Afe Babalola in his alleged defamation case against lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi.

“I am very concerned about Afe’s reputation because the entire world is watching and what the police are doing in the name of Afe Babalola,” Akande said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast show on Thursday.

The former presidential spokesman stated that while there is a basis for Afe Babalola to seek redress for alleged defamation of his person, “what I think is inelegant is that you will expect somebody like Chief Afe Babalola, with all of his respect and regard, that he would rather pursue this matter as a civil case”.

He claimed that the non-agerian founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) should not have “instigated the police to harass Mr Farotimi the way we have all seen in videos”.

“He (Afe Babalola) is aggrieved and he should pursue his right but you should expect somebody in his class, somebody with his reputation, Afe Babalola is an icon in Nigeria, so, you will expect him to that in view and rather seek a civil process,” Akande told reporters.

Earlier this week, police in Ekiti State arrested the lawyer and author at his Lagos office and sent him to Ekiti for prosecution.

On Wednesday, the author was arrested for writing a book titled ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’ in which he claimed that Afe Babalola bribed the judiciary and obtained Supreme Court decisions.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all sixteen counts filed against him.

In his decision, the presiding magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, remanded the suspect in jail detention and postponed till December 10, 2024.