Court Fines VeryDarkMan ₦500m, Orders Retraction Of Defamatory Posts Against Femi Falana, Falz

Lagos State High Court has ordered social media critic, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to take down defamatory posts and videos about human lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, Folarin (Falz).

In a ruling on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Justice M. O. Idowu fined VeryDarkMan ₦500 million for libel and instructed him to compensate the Falanas for the damage caused by his posts.

The court held that the posts shared by VeryDarkMan on September 24, falsely linking popular crossdresser, Bobrisky to Falz and his father were defamatory and harmful to their reputation.

Dawodu stated, “According to the applicants (Falz and Falana), the defendant (VeryDarkMan) knew these statements (Bobrisky’s claims) were false and untrue but proceeded to publish them to injure their reputation.

“Furthermore, the defamatory statements are still trending on the defendant (VeryDarkMan)’s several online platforms and the injury to their reputation continues as long as the publication remains online.”

KanyiDaily recalls that VeryDarkMan leaked a voice recording of Bobrisky alleging how he contacted Falz during his six-month jail term.

Bobrisky was sentenced to three months in jail after admitting guilt to currency mutilation following his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was released on August 5, 2024.

Responding to the allegations, the Falanas had filed a letter demanding a retraction of the statements and an apology from VeryDarkMan within 24 hours.

However, VeryDarkMan refuted claims of defaming the Falanas, stressing that the issue should be addressed through an interagency investigation into Bobrisky’s claims.