An Ikeja High Court has set January 23, 2025, to hear the defamation lawsuit filed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana and his son, the rapper and lawyer Folarin Falana (popularly known as Falz), against online activist Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM). The lawsuit, which accuses VDM of defamatory remarks in an online video, is based on claims that VDM made unfounded allegations against the Falanas following a purported audio recording by cross-dresser Bobrisky.
On Thursday, during the proceedings, counsel for the Falanas, Mr. Muiz Banire (SAN), indicated that the originating legal process had been filed and served, along with a motion on notice dated October 25. However, Justice Matthias Dawodu noted that the originating process was not yet before the court, prompting Banire to request an adjournment to enable the filing of necessary administrative documents. Banire said, “In this circumstance, my lord, the best thing to do is to adjourn the matter so that we can go back to the registry to file all the administrative processes.”
In response, VDM’s counsel, Mr. Marvin Omorogbe, contested the validity of the writ of summons, arguing that it was invalid and that the originating writ needed to be re-filed with a new suit number. Omorogbe suggested that the existing writ bore the same suit number as previous preliminary injunction proceedings, which should have concluded once the injunction was either granted or denied. “The writ already filed is invalid as it is not before the court,” Omorogbe asserted, adding, “Preemptive remedy proceedings end after an injunction is granted or refused. They have filed a writ with the same suit number, which is procedurally incorrect.”
Following no objections from Banire, Justice Dawodu struck out a motion dated October 18 filed by the claimants, which sought grounds for appeal based on procedural irregularities in the preemptive proceedings.
Justice Dawodu confirmed the January 23 hearing date to address preliminary objections regarding the validity of the writ, noting, “I will give you a date for hearing because we are talking about a writ that is not before the court.”
The court also adjourned a related defamation case involving Falz and VeryDarkMan for the same reason. This follows an earlier October 14 order requiring VDM to remove an allegedly defamatory video made on September 24, which the court deemed potentially damaging to the Falanas’ reputation.
The defamation claim centers on VDM’s alleged online dissemination of unverified accusations involving the Falanas, originating from a third-party narrative.
