Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, a book by Nigerian author and activist lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has moved to the top spot on Amazon’s bestseller list in global politics.
The book’s sudden popularity followed Farotimi’s arrest earlier this week on the orders of a prominent lawyer and businessman, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
The book, published in July 2024, had garnered little attention until Tuesday when armed police arrested Farotimi in Lagos and transported him to Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, a city where Babalola lives and own a university.
The arrest and subsequent court proceedings, where Farotimi was remanded in prison custody until December 10 for bail hearing, sparked outrage and reignited public interest in the book.
Farotimi’s work delves deeply into systemic corruption within Nigeria’s judiciary.
The arrest has drawn widespread condemnation with critics seeing the detention as an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to silence Farotimi’s damning exposé.
The controversy propelled the book to bestseller status on Amazon and spurred a surge in sales at bookstores across Nigeria.
Readers expressed curiosity to learn about allegations that have ignited national debate and drawn international attention.
Remarkably, Farotimi’s book outperformed globally renowned titles like Why Nations Fail on Amazon’s charts, a rare feat for a Nigerian-themed publication.
The Nigerian police charged Farotimi with publishing material “likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the public peace,” according to a charge sheet.
