Social media critic, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as Verydarkman, has denied allegations of defamation against prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN.
VeryDarkMan denied the allegation in a video post on his Instagram account while expressing his deep respect for Falana whom he described as his Uncle.
This follows Nigerian rapper Falz’s threat of legal action against Verydarkman on Wednesday, after being accused, along with his father, Femi Falana, of involvement in a voice recording linked to a controversial bribery scandal involving crossdresser Bobrisky and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Meanwhile, VeryDarkMan’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has responded to the matter, clarifying that VDM simply questioned the validity of Bobrisky’s claims in the leaked audio and did not intend to defame Femi Falana.
The statement read: “We’re solicitors to Mr Martins Vicent Otse, now referred to as our client, on whose instruction we act. Our client received your letter dated September 25, 2024, on the above subject matter wherein you demanded the retraction of his Instagram publication containing a voice recording between Mr Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju (Bobrisky) and a third party.
“Our client denies defaming Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, a renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and globally recognised human rights activist, but asserts that he only published the said communication to get 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 element of the voice recording has been confirmed by Mr Folarin Falana in his solicitor’s letter dated 25 September 2024.”
VeryDarkMan’s lawyer emphasised that the primary focus should be investigating the allegations Bobrisky allegedly made against certain EFCC officers rather than pursuing a defamation case.
“Our client holds Mr Femi Falana, SAN, in high esteem and recognises his commitment to protecting human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. In light of the preceding, our client believes that the appropriate line of action in the circumstances is an interagency investigation into the allegations contained in the voice recording rather than pursuing a case of defamation”, Mr Adeyanju said.
In a Facebook post, Mr Adeyanju added that Falz should focus on Bobrisky, having acknowledged the call.
“For Falz: he should go and meet Bob about everything he/she said. Falz even admitted to having a phone call with Bob. End of discussion.”
