A Lagos High Court in Ikeja has struck out a defamation suit filed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, and his son, Folarin Falana, also known as Falz, against blogger Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).
The suit was filed over a video VDM posted on his social media platforms, alleging that the Falanas collected N10 million from convicted crossdresser Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky, to influence the course of justice.
The Falanas had each claimed N500 million in damages, arguing that VDM’s comments were reckless, unverified, and damaging to their reputation. However, during the court hearing, neither the Falanas nor VDM were present. VDM’s counsel, Niyi Alagbe, informed the court that he had earlier filed an application for a stay of proceedings, which was opposed by the Falanas’ counsel, Omotayo Olatunbosun. Olatunbosun argued that the application was an attempt to prolong the matter and urged the judge to proceed with the preliminary objection.
Justice Matthias Dawodu noted that the application was not in the court file and questioned why the case was before him when the main suit was pending before another judge. He ruled that proceeding with the suit would be an academic exercise and consequently struck out the suit, stating, “Consequently, this suit is hereby struck out”.
The court’s decision brings an end to this particular suit, but the underlying issues remain. The Falanas’ reputation and the allegations made by VDM will likely continue to be a topic of discussion.
