The law firm of Afe Babalola has filed a petition with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), seeking the removal of Dele Farotimi from the roll of Nigerian legal practitioners. The firm alleges that Farotimi breached multiple provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers.
The petition, a comprehensive 90-page document dated December 6, 2024, was signed by Ola Faro, a partner at Afe Babalola & Co. Faro, who was also mentioned in Farotimi’s book Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, played a central role in detailing the allegations.
Titled Petition against Tomilola Titus Farotimi (also known as Dele Farotimi Esq.), a Nigerian Lawyer Called to the Nigerian Bar with His Name on the Roll of Legal Practitioners Kept by the Supreme Court for Violations of the Extant Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, the document lists violations of several provisions, including Rules 1, 15(1), 15(2b), 15(3a), 15(3g), 15(3i), 15(3j), 26(1), 27(1), 30, and 31(1), (2), and (4) of the 2023 Rules of Professional Conduct. The firm accuses Farotimi of tarnishing the reputation of the Nigerian judiciary with baseless allegations of corruption against prominent figures, including Supreme Court justices, Lagos State High Court judges, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Aare Afe Babalola, and members of Afe Babalola & Co.
Faro, writing in both his personal capacity and on behalf of the law firm, provided a detailed account of the alleged misconduct. The petition claims Farotimi engaged in behavior unbecoming of a legal practitioner by making unsubstantiated accusations against the Supreme Court and the broader legal profession.
