by Nurat Uthman
The Lagos State High Court has ordered social media critic, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to remove defamatory comments and videos about renowned lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz. Additionally, the court has imposed a N500 million fine for libel.
Justice M. O. Idowu delivered the judgment on Tuesday in suit no: ID/8584/GCM/2024. The case centered around defamatory remarks and videos posted by VeryDarkMan on September 24, 2024, linking the Falana family to controversial internet personality Bobrisky.
The court found the statements to be defamatory and damaging to the public image of both Femi Falana and his son. According to the ruling, the social media critic knew the claims were false but published them with the intent to harm their reputations.
“The defamatory statements continue to trend on the defendant’s social media platforms, causing ongoing harm to the applicants’ reputation as long as the publications remain online,” Justice Idowu noted. The court has directed VeryDarkMan to immediately take down the content in question.
