diff --git a/e2fsprogs/ext2fs/namei.c b/e2fsprogs/ext2fs/namei.c
index 6ce4bb3..2c372f4 100644
--- a/e2fsprogs/ext2fs/namei.c
+++ b/e2fsprogs/ext2fs/namei.c
@@ -61,8 +61,7 @@
 		pathname = (char *)&(ei.i_block[0]);
 	retval = open_namei(fs, root, dir, pathname, ei.i_size, 1,
 			    link_count, buf, res_inode);
-	if (buffer)
-		ext2fs_free_mem(&buffer);
+	ext2fs_free_mem(&buffer);
 	return retval;
 }