Influencer and activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has clarified that he did not defame legal luminary, Femi Falana.
The clarification by VeryDarkMan followed a threat by Mr Falana’s son, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, to institute a defamation suit against him if he doesn’t apologise and withdraw his defamatory comments within 24 hours.
Stating in a letter by VeryDarkMan’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, dated September 25, 2024, VeryDarkMan, who holds Mr Falana in high esteem, said he posted the audio recordings to allow for a thorough investigation by relevant authorities into Bobrisky’s allegations, some of which have been confirmed by Falz.
It read, “Our client denies defaming Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, a renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and globally recognized human rights activist, but asserts that he only published the said communication with a view to getting the relevant agencies, and even your client, to initiate a thorough investigation into the far-reaching allegations made by Mr. Okuneye in the said voice recording, especially as some elements of the voice recording have been confirmed by Mr. Folarin Falana in his solicitor’s letter of September 25, 2024.”
“Our client holds Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, in very high esteem and recognizes his commitment to the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. It is in the light of the foregoing that our client believes that the appropriate line of action in the circumstance is an interagency investigation into the allegations contained in the voice recording rather than pursuing a case of defamation.”
VeryDarkMan had posted a voice recording by Idris Okuneye, popularly called Bobrisky, alleging that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) collected a N15 million bribe from the cross-dresser to drop the money laundering charge against him and allow him to serve his six-month jail term in a private apartment.
However, Mr Falana denied ever contacting Bobrisky, adding that VeryDarkMan didn’t reach out before posting the false claims, which included insinuations of homosexuality.
