The Lagos State High Court has ordered social media critic, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to remove defamatory comments and videos regarding lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) and his musician son, Folarin a.k.a Falz.
Justice M. O. Dawodu issued the ruling on Monday in suit no: ID/8584/GCM/2024, and also fined Otse ₦500 million for libel and instructed him to compensate the Falanas for damages.
The court found that VeryDarkMan’s posts, published on September 24, 2024, which linked Bobrisky to Falz and his father, were defamatory and damaging to their public image.
Justice Dawodu noted that VeryDarkMan was aware the statements were false yet chose to publish them, further harming the reputations of Falana and Falz.
He stressed that the defamatory content remains on the defendant’s online platforms, continuing to inflict reputational damage as long as it is accessible.
“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,” the justice said. “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.”
