Nigerian lawyer Afe Babalola (SAN) used the police to arrest and detain his former employee, Bridget Omon Emengo, in 2021.
Emengo was arrested and detained simply because she instituted an action against him for wrongful termination of her employment, violations of several of her fundamental human rights and those of her son, as well as defamation of her character.
In an October 2021 post, Emengo stated that the team leader of the policemen, one DSP Abel, from the Monitoring and Mentoring Unit of the FCT Police Command, came to arrest her.
He also brought with him the original copy of the petition filed against her.
She explained that she was granted bail in the sum of N300,000.00 with two sureties of like sum.
Emengo said that she was driven by officers of the Monitoring and Mentoring Unit all the way to Keffi to be remanded at the Keffi prison, even though she had never heard any pronouncement in open court regarding her remand in Keffi prison.
Meanwhile, her attempted remand in prison custody failed.
She said officials at Keffi prison were reportedly surprised when she was presented to them that morning and rejected her.
However, they cited the Nigerian prison’s COVID-19 protocols, which stipulated that all female inmates be sent to the Suleja Prisons, as that was where the quarantine facility for women was located.
As a result, the officers of the Monitoring and Mentoring Unit had no choice but to return to the court to change the remand order to “Suleja prison custody,” she said.
However, by the time they returned to Magistrate Court 10 in Wuse Zone 6, for the Honorable Sadiq Abubarka, Esq., to change the prison location, Emengo’s bail had already been perfected, and she was released.
The case with suit number: NICN/ABJ/29/2021, between Bridget Omonukpon Emengo, Esq., Credan Chikamsi Emengo (suing through his next friend, Bridget Omonukpon Emengo, Esq.) and Afe Babalola, CON, OFR, SAN, Adebayo Adenipekun, SAN, Olu Daramola, SAN, Kehinde Olamide Ogwumiju, SAN, Tunde Babalola, SAN, Peter Oluwaseun Olomola, Esq.
Others in Babalola’s team included Oluwasina Ogungbade, Esq., Sunday Ojonugwa Onubi, Esq., Ademola Khamar Abimbola, Esq., Ayakanyejah Ndah, Esq., and Fumilayo Longe, Esq.
Afe Babalola, in a petition letter dated September 27, 2021, to the Commissioner of Police, FCT Police Command, against Bridget Emengo and Jennifer Ulinghifun over blackmail, fraudulent extortion, and unfounded criminal allegations of kidnap, assault, and other sundry allegations against the law firm of Afe Babalola & Co. and its staff.
The statement read, “The law firm of Afe Babalola & Co., through this petition, brings to the attention of the Nigerian Police Force the unwholesome and unsubstantiated criminal allegations made against our firm and its staff by Bridget Emengo, a former employee of the firm, and her counsel, Jennifer Ulinghifun.
“Bridget Emengo joined the firm of Afe Babalola & Co. as a Youth Corps member sometime in 2011 on the recommendation of her benefactor, Professor Julius Okojie, a friend of our founding partner, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
“Upon completion of her compulsory youth service, she was discharged from the firm. Later, when she was unemployed, the said Professor Julius Okojie requested our Managing Partner to offer her a position at the firm. In November 2012, she was allowed to resume work at the firm.”
Meanwhile, Emengo, in a post on her Facebook page on October 5, 2021, said that on Sunday evening (October 3), while sitting in her house, she saw some police officers in mufti from MMU who told her she had been invited to the FCT police station.
She said, “Good afternoon learned friends, my name is Bridget a Emengo I was sitting in my house this afternoon and I got a knock on my gate upon enquiries, a man in mufti, waving a police badge from the monitoring and mentoring department, FCT command claims to have a complaint where my name featured and I was being invited to the police station.
“Upon further enquiry the police in mufti refused to disclose his name and they couldn’t tell me what the complaint was about or who wrote the complaint.”
“I asked to be given the invitation so that I could honour it tomorrow morning being Monday as I am with my kids aged 2 and 6 but they couldn’t provide it and insured that I must come along with them today compulsorily,” she said.
Emengo said, “My husband therefore asked why I couldn’t be allowed to honour the invitation to the police station tomorrow since I was not under arrest and it was just an invitation. At that point the team leader (the spokesperson) said I was under arrest.
“So I also asked for the arrest warrant.
“He therefore said he was going to get one and has now left to do so but there are 3 police officers in front of my gate with a Hilux truck blocking my entrance.
“I just figured I should let you guys know this as learned friends because this is very suspicious to me.
“I have my suspicions, I’ll keep you this house posted.”
“I was taken from my house from Sunday and only released today after which release, I later sent this update to my colleagues in the same closed lawyers group here on Facebook as promised,” Emengo added.
In a subsequent post to provide an update, she wrote, “Good evening learned colleagues, I am sorry for the long silence after my last post on Sunday evening, the team leader of the policemen who came to arrest me one DSP ABEL of the Monitoring and Mentoring Unit of the FCT Police Command later returned with the original copy of the petition written against me and the arrest warrant, so I accompanied them to the police station.”
Emengo further explained that the petition upon which the arrest warrant was issued was written by the law firm of Afe Babalola & Co, (her former employers).
“Simply because I instituted an action against them for wrongful termination of my employment, violations of several of my fundamental human rights and that of my son as well as the defamation of my character, all orchestrated by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN simply because I am a woman and from a minority tribe, which he claims is not “the Baptized tribe” and had deposed to facts and pleaded documents in support of all my claims before the court.
“The said complaint/petition was signed by Olamide Mojogbotoluwa Adekunle Néé Ehifun, and the allegation against me in the petition was that the averments in my witness statement on oath are in their opinion false.”
She said interestingly, they alleged in the petition that because they were denying the averments in her witness statement on oath, therefore, the said averments and the content of exhibit “V” in suit No. NICN/ABJ/29/2021 constituted the offences of pejury, blackmail, defamation of character and injurious falsehood by reason of their mere denials.
“Curiously the law firm of Afe Babalola and Co., apparently chose to file a petition to the Nigeria Police Force because somehow, they believed that as oppose to filing a statement of defence to my action in court like legal practitioners are expected to do, a petition to the Nigerian Police Force alleging pejury, defamation of character and injurious falsehood is the proper process to traverse the contents of a witness statement on oath,” she wrote.
She said, “I was remanded in police custody because my oral application for bail that Sunday night on self-recognizance was refused. I was arraigned yesterday afternoon (4/10/21) between the hours of 3:30pm and 4pm and granted bail in the sum of N300,000.00 with 2 sureties in like sum, being civil servants of grade level 13 and resident in the FCT.
“My bail could not be perfected yesterday because time was far spent and we were informed that the magistrate handling the charge does not accept affidavit of means deposed to at the magistrate court zone 6 registry and headed in the magistrate court for bails.
“As a matter of fact, we were categorically told that he only accepts affidavit of means headed in the High Court of the FCT, which registry had obviously closed by then and was some kilometers away. I was therefore further remanded in police custody for the night.
“Very early this morning at 1st light, and well before the court would open to perfect my bail, I was driven by Officers of the MMU all the way to Keffi to be remanded at the Keffi prison even though I never heard any pronouncement about me being kept in Keffi prison custody when the ruling was read in open court.”
She added, “In any case, the attempt to remand me in prison custody today failed as the officials of Keffi prison were very surprised when I was presented to them in prison this morning and rejected me on the ground that since the inception of the Nigerian prisons Covid protocols, all female inmates were sent to Suleja Prisons because that is where they have the quarantine facility for women.
“The officers of the MMU therefore had no option than to return to the court to have the remand order changed to ‘Suleja prison custody’, but by the time we returned to the magistrate court 10 in Wuse Zone 6, for the Honourable Sadiq Abubarka, Esq., to change the prison location, my bail had already been perfected so I was released.
“I am grateful for the show of love from this platform.”
Farotimi’s Case
Similarly, human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi was arrested in early December following a petition by Afe Babalola.
Babalola petitioned the police, claiming that Farotimi defamed him in his book, entitled ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’.
Following Babalola’s petition, the police invaded the author’s office in Lekki, Lagos State, on Tuesday, December 3. Farotimi was subsequently taken to Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, where he was detained and charged with criminal defamation.
Although, two courts – a high court and a magistrate court – have granted bail to Farotimi, he has remained in incarceration.
One of the charges reads, “That you Dele Farotimi ‘m’ sometimes in 2024 authored, published and circulated your book titled: “Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System” which was received and read all over the world including Ado-Ekiti within the Ado-Ekiti Magisterial District wherein you stated at page IX of the book: “That Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgment in the service of his clients” which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the public peace knowing or having reason to believe that the Statements is false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 59(1) of Criminal Code Act.”