VeryDarkMan, a social media critic, has defended himself against allegations of defamation made by human rights lawyer Femi Falana and his son, the artist Falz.
Gatekeepers News reports that the individual, whose real name is Martins Otse, recently shared a purported audio conversation in which crossdresser Bobrisky claimed that the Falana family attempted to contact her during her six-month imprisonment for naira abuse.
In the recording, Bobrisky alleged that they sought to secure her a presidential pardon in exchange for N10 million.
Despite the claims made in the recording, Bobrisky later disputed its authenticity and expressed intent to sue VeryDarkMan for defamation. The Falana family also issued a demand for a retraction and formal apology, warning of potential legal action if their requests were not met. VeryDarkMan has declined to apologize, maintaining that he merely exposed corruption and did not engage in defamation. This has led to the Falana family pursuing legal action against him.
In a recent development, Matthias Dawodu, the presiding judge, issued an order requiring VeryDarkMan to remove “defamatory comments and videos” related to Falz and Falana from his social media accounts.
The judge further instructed him to refrain from publishing or sharing any additional defamatory content about the Falana family.
In response to the ruling, VeryDarkMan filed two separate motions with the court seeking an extension of time to secure permission to appeal the judge’s decision. In his motion, dated October 18, he argued that the court’s order was based solely on the affidavit provided by the respondent and claimed that denying his request would amount to legal injustice.
On Wednesday, VeryDarkMan announced via his Instagram page that he had arrived in Lagos with his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, in preparation for the hearing of the defamation lawsuit. The hearing is scheduled to commence at 9:00 AM at the Ikeja High Court.
The activist stressed that he won’t apologise to Falana and Falz over claim of defamation, arguing that he only exposed corruption.
“I just arrived in Lagos for the Femi Falana case against me, scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) at the Ikeja High Court by 9:00 AM,” he said in a video.
“I came to Lagos ahead of that. As you all know, they (Falana and Falz) said I defamed them, but for me, it’s corruption I exposed. I see things that don’t make sense, like someone going to prison and not serving their jail term or the EFCC, which is supposed to catch people involved in corruption, collecting money.
“That’s what I exposed. But sadly, some people (Falana and Falz) whose names were mentioned said I should have informed them before posting such things about them.
“They (Falana and Falz) asked me to apologise. I don’t see anything wrong with what I did, so I’m not apologising to anybody. If someone’s name is mentioned, they should clear their name.”
