I am privileged to have worked in the law firm of Afe Babalola for 12 years. I am therefore familiar with the facts of this case. For the records, Dele Farotimii was not involved in the appeal at the Supreme Court. It was the firm of Chief Rotimi Williams (represented by his son, T.E. Williams, SAN) that handled the matter for the Respondents at the Supreme Court. Chief Afe was briefed to take over the case after the Appellants at the Supreme Court had lost the case at both the High Court of Lagos State and the Court of Appeal.
The appeal was eventually allowed and judgment of the Court of Appeal set aside by the Supreme Court. Being a land case which commenced in 1977 concerning a vast land in Lekki, third party interests had come in at the time the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in 2013 as several estates had sprung up on the land.
It was one of the Estates that Dele Farotimi represented. He was so incompetent that he lost the case. After losing at the High Court, he didn’t appeal to the Court of Appeal as one would have expected of a competent lawyer. His client as well as other estates eventually opted to settle the matter with the Appellants.
It is therefore surprising that this same Dele Famoriti could label everyone & the entire judiciary as being corrupt eleven (11) years after the judgment. I know Chief Afe very well as I had worked closely with him. I am yet to see any lawyer as hard working as him. He goes to his office every day including Sundays. He works as if tomorrow does not exist. He is also the most generous lawyer in Nigeria. No law firm accommodates lawyers like his. His only criterion for employment is competence. He doesnt care about your background. It is therefore sad to see this guy rubbish the hard earned reputation of Chief Afe Babalola.
