A Lagos High Court has issued an interim order directing social media influencer Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to remove defamatory comments and videos about renowned lawyer Femi Falana SAN and his son, musician Falz.
The court ruled that the statements, which were published on September 24, on social media, were damaging to their reputations. In the ruling delivered by Justice M. O. Dawodu, the court restrained VeryDarkMan, his agents, and associates from further circulating or publishing any defamatory content about the claimants. The defamatory posts, which linked Falana and Falz to controversial public figure Bobrisky, were considered false and harmful, and the court emphasized the importance of the applicants’ right to protect their reputation.
The court also granted the applicants permission to serve all legal processes on VeryDarkMan through his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, at his law firm’s address in Abuja. This decision was made due to the defendant’s lack of a verifiable physical address, with the court acknowledging his high activity on social media as a primary mode of engagement.
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Justice M. O. Dawodu emphasized that the defamatory content must be taken down from all of VeryDarkMan’s social media platforms, adding that failure to do so would extend the damage to the applicants’ reputations. He further remarked that there are substantial legal issues to be addressed during the full hearing, and damages may not be adequate compensation if the case favors the applicants.
The original defamatory statements involved VeryDarkMan repeating unverified claims allegedly made by Bobrisky, accusing Femi Falana and Falz of intervening to shield Bobrisky from legal consequences. Following these allegations, Femi Falana demanded an apology and a full retraction of the offensive video. If no resolution is reached, the applicants are seeking N500 million in damages.
The court order stipulates that the removal of the content must occur within 14 days, with the interim order remaining in effect for 21 days.
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