Timi Frank issues 48-hour deadline to FG for Farotimi’s release

Comrade Timi Frank, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), threatened to stage large-scale protests if the Federal and Ekiti State Governments did not free human rights attorney Dr. Dele Farotimi from confinement within 48 hours on Thursday.

In response to Farotimi’s remand, Frank issued a statement urging Nigerians to take over all police stations and establishments in the nation if the government does not unconstitutionally free the rights activist within the allotted period starting from his remand.

Farotimi was ordered to be remanded to the state’s correctional facility on Wednesday by the Ado Ekiti Division of the Ekiti State Chief Magistrates Court.

After writing a book titled “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,” in which he claimed, among other things, that Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had compromised the Supreme Court, Farotimi was charged with defamation of character.

But according to Frank, the claimed defamation alibi is not the only reason for Farotimi’s arrest and incarceration.

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He claimed that the remand was an attempt by the Federal Government to harass and threaten Farotimi for frequently criticizing the anti-people policies of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

In addition to denouncing the police and the judiciary for becoming the tyrannical arm of the current government, he also denounced the arrest and remand of Farotimi.

He feels that because Farotimi is a man who upholds and believes in the rule of law, he doesn’t deserve his current struggles.

“Farotimi is an advocate for democracy, a man of principle, and a man of truth.” Instead of the way he was detained and then placed under remand for an alleged offense that is subject to bail under Nigerian law, they should have invited him in a civil manner and he should have accepted if they thought he had done anything improper.

This demonstrates unequivocally that they are not providing Farotimi with this extremely demeaning experience as a result of Afe Babalola’s petition. Given that Farotimi is a well-known outspoken opponent of the administration, there is more to the arrest.

“It is Farotimi today, it may be another Nigerian tomorrow.” Frank, the ambassador of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to East Africa and the Middle East, urged Nigerians to join the fight to free Farotimi from remand and to prevent the government from using state institutions to repress and silence Nigerians who speak out against their oppressive and hardship-inducing policies.

“They came for the socialists first, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist,” he cited German pastor Martin Niemöller as saying. Since I was not a trade unionist, I remained silent when they came for the trade unionists. Since I was not a Jew, I remained silent when they came for the Jews.
Then they came for me, and nobody was left to defend me.