There was a viral claim by Instablog on Twitter and Instagram that social media personality, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan should pay a 500 million naira fine to Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz and his father, Femi Falana, a legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

The sensational claim made by the blog with combined followers of over 11.2 million on both platforms has caused a stir online. In the now-deleted post from its X and Instagram page, the online platform stated, “Bobrisky: Court fines activist VeryDarkMan N500 million for defaming rapper Falz and his father, Femi Falana”.

“The Lagos State High Court has ordered social media critic Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to pay N500 million in damages to human rights advocate Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, musician Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz. This is as the court, presided over by Justice M. O. Idowu, ordered him to delete defamatory statements and videos against the Falanas.”

“The court’s decision followed a series of posts made by Otse on September 24, 2024, in which he linked the Falanas to crossdresser Bobrisky. Justice Idowu stated that the comments were “defamatory and injurious” to Falana and his son’s public reputations. According to the applicants, the court noted, “the defendant knew these statements were false and untrue but proceeded to publish them to injure their reputation.”

Nigerians have reacted to the recent claim that social media activist, Very Dark Man (VDM), should pay the 500 million naira to the Falana family, a well-known legal dynasty in Nigeria. This situation has triggered widespread conversations, with social media users expressing a mix of disbelief, scepticism, and support for both parties involved.

The news about the alleged defamation penalty on the social media influencer has sparked heated discussions on social media. 

Actress Regina Askia who reacted to the news about the alleged defamation penalty posted on her Instagram page, a screenshot from her Facebook post with the caption: In her post, she said “305,810.40 United States Dollars!!! For defamation In Nigeria? He has an oil well? He has a private jet to off load? Do you think this punishment is “cruel and unusual “!or does it “fit the crime” What is the focus? This guy’s reformation or his destruction? Talk to me!”

Also, acclaimed relationship therapist, Blessing Okoro popularly known as Blessing CEO reacted to the defamation fine with a video while holding her phone that showed the news clip from Instablog9ja said, “🤣🤣🤣. I am begging on behalf of vdm. Forgive 🤣🤣🤣our online police …”

On X, content creator, and lawyer, Timi Agbaje, while reacting to the now-deleted Instablog9ja post stated: “This is fake news @instablog9ja. The court has not done trial on the matter so no fine has been stated by the court. The court only gave order for substituted service (verydarkman to be served through his lawyer) and he should remove the “defamatory” videos from his social media and also not post further defamatory matter about the Falanas.”

Recall that on September 24, VeryDarkMan in a leaked video purportedly made by Idris Okuneye popularly known as Bobrisky made some remarks about the role allegedly played by Falz and his human rights lawyer, Femi Falana in Bobrisky’s attempt to secure amnesty while in prison custody. Then, the Falanas through a letter by their law firm demanded a retraction of the allegation and subsequently filed a libel suit against VeryDarkMan before a Lagos State High Court.

Following the conflicting accounts about the penalty against VeryDarkMan, and the amount of fine awarded, NV-A took a look through the public court documents to verify the facts of the matter in the ongoing court case.

VERIFICATION

Vanguard Newspaper report on the defamation case which was presided over by Justice M. Dawodu at the High Court in Ikeja, Lagos on October 15 revealed the facts of the case.

According to the report, Very Dark Man has been ordered to remove all defamatory content about human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, from all his social media handles.

The judge also restrained VeryDarkMan from further publishing any defamatory content against Falana.

After a thorough look at the court judgement, NV-A did not see any mention of the figure of ₦500 million as a payment or fine imposed on VeryDarkMan for defamation, but here’s the major highlight from the case.

• Restraining Order: The court ordered an interim/pre-emptive restraint, preventing VeryDarkMan from posting or circulating further defamatory comments about the claimant on social media.
• Service of Legal Processes: The court allowed the claimant to serve the legal documents to VDM through his lawyer, using substituted means, as VDM did not have a verifiable physical address.
• Temporary Measures: The orders, such as restraining the defamatory content, were granted for a limited period (21 days) and could lapse afterwards if no further action was taken.

Premium Times, BBC Pidgin, Punch Newspapers, Channels TV and Sahara Reporters also corroborated the facts of the case from their reporting of the court proceedings and judgement.

CONCLUSION

There is no mention in the court document of any financial penalty of ₦500 million, hence the viral claim about the payment is MISLEADING but VeryDarkMan has been ordered to remove defamatory content about the Falanas from his social media pages and desist from posting any defamatory content about the family for the next 21 days.