A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has ordered a blogger, Mr Martins Vincent Otse, alias VeryDarkMan, VDM, to pay a cost of N200,000 as the court dismissed the preliminary objections he filed against the N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira ) defamation suits by human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN and his son, Mr. Folarin Falana, aka Falz who accused him of character defamation contained in the defendant’s video publication of September 24, 2024, on his Instagram.
Justice Fimisola Azeez, who delivered rulings in the preliminary objections filed by VDM against the two suits filed by the duo of Femi Falana and Folarin Falana, also ordered him to pay N100,000 each for Femi and Folarin’s suits.
The judge also directed the defendant to immediately file his defence to the two suits brought against him by the Claimants.
At Tuesday’s proceeding, Femi Falana was physically absent, but represented by his counsel, Ernest Olawanle and Femi Akinyemi, while the second Claimant in one of the suits, Mr. Folarin Falana, aka Falz, was in court.
Meanwhile, VDM was absent but represented by his counsel, Mr. Marvin Omorogbe.
The Claimants, Falana, SAN and Folarin in the two suits have dragged the social media influencer to court, accusing him of character assassination, stating that he should purge himself of the accusations by apologising and refrain from further publications.
In their suits, the Falanas prayed the court to “restrain VDM from further tarnishing their image by publishing the same/similar words of and concerning the Claimant.”
Besides, they urged the court to declare that the publication of the defendant made on September 24, 2024, on his Instagram handle: @verydarkblackman, wherein he specifically targeted the Claimant, is libelous, injurious, derogatory, scandalous, and defamatory.
The Claimants also asked the VDM to pay the sum of N500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira Only) each, amounting to One Billion Naira for defamation of character contained in the Defendant’s video publication of September 24, 2024, on his Instagram handle @verydarkblackman. :
The duo of Femi and Folarin also prayed for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents or servants or otherwise, from further publishing or causing to be published the said or similar words defamatory to the Claimant.
Additionally, they urged the court to grant an order “directing the Defendant to publish an apology to the Claimant on all his social media handles/pages for the defamatory words contained in the video complained of and in one National Daily Newspaper.”
The defendant, VDM, had filed a preliminary objection praying the Court for an order dismissing the suits filed by both complaints for want of jurisdiction
He argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to superintendent over the case on the ground that the alleged offences were committed outside the jurisdiction of the Lagos State High Court.
However, the Claimants who are Respondents in opposing the preliminary objection filed a counter-affidavit and a written address. They urged the court to dismiss VDM’s application.
After the court’s ruling, Justice Azeez adjourned the matter for mention as well as to enable the Defendant to file his defence to the case of defamation levied against him.
Before now, another state high court presided over by Justice Mathias Dawodu on April 15th struck out a preemptive action filed by the Claimants, hinging his ruling on the pendency of the substantive case pending before another state high court.
On that day, the matter came up before the court for hearing of Preliminary Objections filed against the Claimants’ initial pre-emptive application granted on the 14th of October 2024.
In compliance with the order of court granted on the 14th of October 2024, the Claimants filed the substantive suit pending before High Court judge, Justice Azeez in Ikeja.
However, Otse alias VDM filed a Notice of preliminary objection, alleging multiplicity of action over an expired pre-emptive application.
In his application, VDM filed a process for a stay of proceedings alongside his preliminary application but the court struck out the application on the ground that there was a substantive matter pending before Justice Matthias Dawodu.
At the proceedings on the 15th April 2025, Justice Dawodu, the court held that the matter before it is spent and has become academic exercise.
The court held that “the matter can no longer stand because it has no legs and therefore, sustaining the matter amounts to a waste of precious judicial time.”
Consequently, the court struck out the Preliminary objection.
Justice Azeez adjourned till July 8, 2025 for mention and the defendant to file his defence.
