Allegation Of Judicial And Institutional Corruption By Dele Farotimi – Pedro Lawal and Lagos State Govt Have Case To Answer

Spread the love

*ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND JUDICIAL IMPUNITY BY DELE FAROTIMI : DOES LAGOS STATE GOVT HAVE CASE TO ANSWER* (Ope Banwo, Attorney and Founder Naija Lives Matter continues to ask pertinent questions about the Chief Afe vs Dele Farotimi Saga)

Listening to Lawal Pedro SAN (former Solicitor General of Lagos and now Attorney General of Lagos) in his recent interview with Adeola (see link here : ( https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8NxLer4/ ), I was stunned—not just by his revelations, but by his apparent obliviousness to the gravity of his public admissions. What he seemed to believe was an attempt to “clear the air” only ended up confirming the very lawlessness and impunity that Dele Farotimi had called out in his book.

As the top law enforcement officer in Lagos, and as a Solicitor General at the time of some of the issues that has not giving rise to criminal prosecution and civil libel cases today, Mr. Pedro’s statements leave us, as lawyers and discerning members of the public, with serious questions:

1. How did Lagos State Government “compromise” a Supreme Court judgment in his time, and reach a settlement with the beneficiaries of a humongous land dispute without involving Afe Babalola’s law firm, which had won the case and the lands in question at the Supreme Court for the Eletu family?

From his own admission, and public record at the time , Chief Afe Babalola’s law firm was the attorney of record for the Gbadamosi Eletu family who had won the “10 Hectare-turned 254 Hectares” for them . Yet the solicitor general or lagos state govt who mediated it ‘compromise’ the lawsuit was NOT invited or that meeting? Does that even make sense to any independent observer?

Mr. Pedro SAN himself admitted in the interview that he gave to Adeola  that Chief Afe only found out about the settlement AFTER Lagos State had already given the supposed beneficiaries plots in Banana Island as part of the deal and even accused him at the time of being compromised in the case?

Really? Wow. And to appease Chief Afe, the Attorney General had to personally travel to Ekiti to make amends? Jeez! What exactly is going on here?

Are Nigerians really paying attention here or you all jsit want to play the ostrich that all is well with this ‘explanation’ ?

By the way, These 254 hectares of land are not peanuts—they are worth billions, if not trillions of naira. Even 10 hectares in Osaka London 24.7 Acres is not small . Must be worth billions!)

Yet, we are being told that Dele Farotimi has no proof of wrongdoing and that his claims are wild and unprovable. Would you easily believe this explanation if you were an interested party on the other side ?

By the way for those wondering that the original families involved in the case are ‘not shouting’ about injustice, you must ask yourself why would they? If Lagos state govt has given everyone (all sides it appears) Land on even more expensive Banana Island to settle the ‘2 fighting’ for sake of the estates already on the lands, by their own lawless actions in granting CFOs for lands under court dispute in the first place , do you honestly expect the families to talk?

Or is the mere fact that they are not talking or complaining anymore now mean that something dirty didn’t go down? Give me a break!

2. The Attorney General openly admitted on record that “while litigation was still ongoing, Lagos State Government was busy issuing Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) on the land.”

Wait, what? The government was issuing C of Os for land that was still in court? Lands that were still sub judice?

Did I mishear him, or did he actually say this out loud, as if it made sense?

This is the Attorney General of Lagos State—a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, no less. And yet some of you are scandalized when Dele describes our judicial system as a cesspit of corruption and impunity? Seriously?

I’m starting to understand what Dele meant when he said that the evidence of corruption and misconduct is already out there in the public domain; it’s just that most of us are pretending not to see it.

3. The Supreme Court’s Curious “Slip” of 10 Hectares vs. 254 Hectares

Let’s not forget the Supreme Court’s bizarre “slip” in its original judgment. Initially, the Court ruled that the beneficiaries were entitled to 10 hectares of land. Eight months later, under the slip rule, the Court revised the judgment to 254 hectares.

Now, let me break this down with a simple analogy:

Imagine you have a dispute with your neighbor over some land. After much deliberation, the village elders rule in favor of your neighbor, saying they’re entitled to “10 hectares” of your land. They even clarify that “10 hectares is equivalent to 24.71 acres.”

Your neighbor happily accepts the 10 hectares and begins trying to sell parts of it. But eight months later, their lawyer convinces the elders to revisit the ruling, and the same elders—who originally agreed with four other respected leaders—now say, “Sorry, we meant to say it’s actually 254 hectares.”

Would you not feel upset, betrayed, or suspicious? Would you not question how the same elders could make such a monumental error and then claim it was merely a “slip”? Would your outrage matter any less just because you weren’t personally present in the room when the ruling was made?

This is exactly the kind of situation Dele was dealing with, yet we are castigating him for going scorched earth on everyone involved.

4. Lagos State’s Role in the Mess

Now add to this the Lagos State Government’s actions, which seem to have exacerbated the chaos. How does a government issue Certificates of Occupancy for land that is still in dispute and being litigated?

The Lagos State Government owes us an explanation. These actions have directly contributed to the atmosphere of lawlessness surrounding this case.

As I watched and listened to Lawal Pedro’s interview, I couldn’t help but wonder: why is no one else asking these obvious questions? 🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️🤷🏿‍♂️

Maybe it’s time to ask the more knowledgeable SANs, who will likely tell me to “go read the rules” and trust the system. But can we, in good conscience, keep pretending that this all makes sense?

My name is Ope Banwo , Founder of Naija Lives Matter and we shall continue to ask pertinent questions until all issues are properly aired annd ALL lives in Nigeria Matter)