Dele Farotimi’s Book Soars to Amazon Bestseller List—Just 48 Hours After Arrest

Dele Farotimi’s book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System,’ has become a bestseller on Amazon Books as the human rights advocate faces legal action over the publication.

The book is ranked 555 out of all books on the e-commerce website and is number one in elections.

The book also topped Amazon’s charts in general elections, political process, and political commentary and opinion.

Customer reviews rated the book 4.9 out of five stars.

Published on July 2, Farotimi examined how affluent Nigerians allegedly manipulated the country’s judicial system for their interests.

However, his description of the country’s legal landscape has become a subject matter in a law court.

On Wednesday, Farotimi was arraigned in a magistrate court in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti state, for allegedly “criminally defaming” Afe Babalola, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), named in the book.

The activist pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Samson Osun, the police prosecutor, asked the court to remand Farotimi pending further investigation.

Dayo Akeredolu, counsel to Farotimi, opposed the remand request and prayed the court to admit the activist on bail under liberal terms and self-recognition.

Akeredolu’s bail application was rejected.

Abayomi Adeosun, the magistrate, ruled that Farotimi be remanded in prison custody till December 10.

Hours after the legal proceedings, Roving Heights, a bookstore, announced that its website crashed. The bookstore said the technical glitch was caused by “unusual traffic and a spike in demand for some titles”.