UK Based Nigerian lawyer , Mr. Lawal Speaks on Afe Babalola and Defamation
A Nigerian lawyer in the UK, Mr. Lawal was on Morning Brief show on Channels TV yesterday. He made very profound and educative statements on defamation, the difference between civil and criminal defamation.
He said a person who feels defamed can decide which course of remedial action to pursue depending on the level of punishment he/she wants to extract.
He noted that in Nigeria, many of the so-called ‘activists’ who claim they are also lawyers don’t practice law as a vocation, and therefore, they do not know the law.
According to Mr. Lawal defamation cases can be prosecuted anywhere outside the place of origin or where the offense is allegedly committed because of what he called “theory of effect.” A book where a person is defamed was written or published in Lagos State. The book published and written in Lagos will be read all over the world.
In this wise, the effect of the book can be on someone and a set of people in Ekiti, Kano, Enugu, or London.
In the matter between Mr. Farotimi and Chief Afe Babalola, it is not correct to say the author can’t be arrested or prosecuted in Ekiti. Afe Babalola, who is a subject of defamation, lives in Ado Ekiti. The effect of the defamation is on him in Ekiti, his family, businesses, associates, and friends all over the world.
The point being made here is if you go about defaming people because it is your right to do so, don’t cry and play victim when the other person acts in like manner.
Credit:- Temitope Ajayi