Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, authored by retired lawyer Dele Farotimi, has surged to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list in global politics.
The book’s newfound popularity coincided with Mr. Farotimi’s arrest earlier this week, instigated by prominent lawyer and businessman Afe Babalola.
Released in July 2024, the book had initially received scant attention until Tuesday, when armed police detained Mr. Farotimi in Lagos and transported him to Ado Ekiti, where Mr. Babalola resides and owns a university.
The arrest, followed by court proceedings that saw Farotimi remanded in custody until a bail hearing on December 10, sparked outrage and renewed public interest in the book.
Farotimi’s work thoroughly examines systemic corruption within Nigeria’s judiciary.
The author directly implicates Babalola, a 93-year-old senior lawyer, in undermining the nation’s justice system through bribery and clandestine dealings that influence court decisions.
In one striking allegation, Farotimi claims Babalola “compromised the Supreme Court and what little integrity it had left,” citing a specific case where the lawyer purportedly orchestrated a corrupt verdict.
The arrest has elicited widespread condemnation, with many Nigerians accusing Babalola of wielding his influence to quash dissent.
Critics view the detention as an affront to freedom of expression and an effort to silence Farotimi’s scathing exposé.
This controversy has propelled the book to bestseller status on Amazon and led to a surge in sales across bookstores in Nigeria.
Readers have expressed a keen interest in uncovering the allegations that have ignited a national debate and attracted international attention.
Remarkably, Farotimi’s book has outperformed globally acclaimed titles like Why Nations Fail on Amazon’s charts— a notable achievement for a Nigerian-themed publication.
The Nigerian police have charged Farotimi with publishing materials “likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the public peace,” according to a charge sheet obtained by Peoples Gazette.
However, civil society groups, lawyers, and activists have condemned the charges as unfounded, characterising the arrest as an attack on Nigeria’s democracy.
Mr. Babalola, often regarded as Ekiti State’s most influential private citizen, has faced ongoing allegations of corrupting Nigeria’s judiciary over the years.
While he has continuously denied any wrongdoing, the public backlash following Farotimi’s arrest has reignited scrutiny of his legacy and practices.
