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Court orders N500m penalty against VeryDarkMan for defamatory post on Falana, Falz

Court orders N500m penalty against VeryDarkMan

The infamous social media blogger Martin Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, has been ordered by the Lagos State High Court to take down videos and statements that defame lawyer and human rights campaigner Femi Falana (SAN) and his son Folarin.

Justice M. O. Dawodu delivered the Judgment on Monday in suit no: ID/8584/GCM/2024.

According to the Judge, the publications made by VeryDarkMan on his social media accounts, linking Bobrisky to Falz and his father were defamatory and injurious to their public image.

Recall that on September 24, 2024, VeryDarkMan is said to have made unfounded assertions associated with Falz and Femi Falana with the contentious Nigerian internet personality Bobrisky. Given their different reputations in Nigerian society and Bobrisky’s reputation as a contentious personality on gender and LGBTQ+ issues, the relationship could be detrimental to the Falana family’s public image.

The verdict states that even though the social media critic (VeryDarkMan) was aware of the statements’ falsity, they were still disseminated with the intention of damaging their reputations.

“Furthermore, the defamatory statements are still trending on the defendant (VeryDarkMan)’s several online platforms and the injury to their reputation continues as long as the publication remains online.”

The court additionally levied a N500 million libel penalties.