By Ólòpá Úlègbé
The Lagos State High Court has ordered social media critic, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to delete defamatory comments, videos regarding lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, Folarin.
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.
In his ex parte application, Falana prayed the court for “An order of interim/pre-emptive remedy by this Court restraining the Defendant, his agents, privies, and/or anyone from further circulating or publishing any defamatory videos/comments about the Applicant, and to remove the defamatory videos/comments published on September 24, 2024, from all his online social media handles/pages, pending compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol of this Court.
“An order granting leave to the Applicant to serve the Pre-Action Bundles, Originating Processes and all other court processes between parties herein on the Defendant by substituted means through his lawyer Deji Adeyanju of Deji Adeyanju & Partners at Terrace Block D4, White Diamond Estate, Makuru Street, Off Embu Street, Off Aminu, Wuse II, Abuja.
In his ruling, Justice Dawodu held: “The Applicant has a legal right to be protected from being defamed by the actions of the Defendant. Whether this action will succeed can only be determined during the hearing of the matter.
“There is no doubt that the Applicant has a legal right not to be defamed and has proved the possible existence of a breach of the same through the depositions in his affidavit.
“From the affidavit evidence and the documents in support thereof, it is clear that there are substantial issues to be tried in this matter; the balance of convenience seems to be in favour of the Applicant, and damages might not be adequate compensation, especially moreso that the Defendant might not be in good financial standing to compensate the Applicant if the Court finds in his favour.
“From the foregoing, this Court finds that the Applicant has satisfied the conditions stated in Adeleke v. Lawal (supra).
“The Defendant, his agents, and privies are hereby restrained from further releasing, publishing, or circulating any defamatory videos/comments about the Applicant and to bring down the defamatory video/comments about the Applicant published on September 24, 2024 on all his online social media handles/pages pending compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol of this Honourable Court.
“Leave is hereby granted to the Applicant to serve the Pre-Action Bundles, Originating Processes, and all other court processes between parties herein on the Defendant by substituted means through his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju
“The Applicant must file and serve the pre-action bundles, originating processes, and other accompanying processes on the Defendant within 14 days from today. The order in 1 above shall lapse after 21 days from today.”
