Court Rejects VeryDarkMan’s Objection To Falana’s Lawsuit, Orders Him To Pay ₦200,000

A Lagos High Court in Ikeja has thrown out the objections raised by social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), in a ₦1 billion defamation case filed against him by popular lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, musician and activist Folarin Falana, also known as Falz.

On Tuesday, Justice F.A. Azeez ruled on the objections in two separate lawsuits filed by the father and son.

The judge ordered VeryDarkMan to pay ₦100,000 each to both Falana and Falz as legal costs, totaling ₦200,000.

The court also directed VeryDarkMan to immediately submit his defence to the main defamation claims.

While Femi Falana was not in court, his lawyers, Ernest Olawanle and Femi Akinyemi, represented him.

Falz was present in court, while VeryDarkMan was represented by his lawyer, Marvin Omorogbe.

The lawsuit stems from a video VeryDarkMan shared on Instagram on September 24, 2024.

In the video, which touched on the imprisonment of cross-dresser Idris Okuneye (Bobrisky) for abusing the naira, the Falanas claim that VDM made false and harmful statements about them.

They are accusing VDM of making defamatory and damaging remarks, and each is demanding ₦500 million in compensation — a total of ₦1 billion.

Apart from damages, they’re also asking the court to stop VDM from making similar statements in the future and to compel him to issue a public apology both online and in a national newspaper.

VeryDarkMan, in his objection, argued that the Lagos High Court had no authority over the case since the alleged defamation did not occur within its jurisdiction.

But the Falanas countered with a written response, asking the court to reject that claim.

After reviewing both sides, Justice Azeez sided with the Falanas and dismissed VDM’s objections.

The judge then adjourned the case to give VeryDarkMan time to file his defence.

This development comes after an earlier case on April 15, 2025, when another Lagos High Court judge, Justice Mathias Dawodu, struck out a related suit filed by the Falanas to prevent possible legal issues in the main case.

Justice Dawodu ruled that since the defamation case was already being handled by Justice Azeez, the earlier suit had become unnecessary.

He also dismissed VeryDarkMan’s objection in that case, describing it as a waste of the court’s time.

The defamation trial will now continue under Justice Azeez at the Ikeja Division of the Lagos High Court.

KanyiDaily recalls that the court previously fined VeryDarkMan ₦500 million for libel and instructed him to compensate the Falanas for the damage caused by his posts.