Lagos Court Dismisses Femi Falana & Falz’s N1 Billion Defamation Suit Against VeryDarkMAn

The High Court in Ikeja on Tuesday, April 15, dismissed the defamation case brought by the Falanas against internet commentator Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, along with his son, Folarin, who is widely recognized as Falz, had initiated the defamation lawsuit against VDM following comments and a video he shared on September 24, 2024, across his social media channels.

The Falanas had taken legal action against the defendant in separate lawsuits, seeking N500 million each in damages over a video he published on his social media that alleged they received N10 million from Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, to corrupt the course of justice.

When the case was called on Tuesday, April 15, Falana, his son, and VDM were not in court.

However, the respondent’s attorney, Niyi Alagbe, who was standing in for Marvin Omorogbe, notified the court that he had submitted a motion for a stay of proceedings before Justice Fimisola Azeez.

In response, the Falanas’ attorney, Omotayo Olatunbosun, stated that he received the motion around 4:15 p.m. on the previous day.

Olatunbosun argued that the matter scheduled for the day was the preliminary objection, which he considered ready for hearing, and that the new motion was intended to delay proceedings.

He urged the judge to move forward with the day’s agenda.

Justice Matthias Dawodu remarked that the application was not part of the file. He questioned why he had to deal with the case when the main lawsuit was under the jurisdiction of another judge.

Dawodu dismissed the case, concluding that insisting on pursuing the suit would be a theoretical exercise since the main lawsuit was with a different judge.

“As a result, this suit is struck out,” he stated.