Social media personality, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as Verydarkman, has denied allegations of defamation against prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN.
Tribune Online reports that Nigerian rapper, Falz, on Wednesday, threatened legal action against Verydarkman following accusations linking him and his father, Falana, to a voice recording containing a controversial bribery scandal involving crossdresser Bobrisky and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Reacting to the allegations via a letter addressed to Falana’s legal team, Deji Adeyanju, the solicitor representing Verydarkman, clarified that his client’s publication was not intended to defame Mr Falana, but rather to draw attention to serious allegations warranting investigation.
According to the letter, dated 25 September 2024, it was asserted that Verydarkman’s intention was to prompt relevant authorities to begin an investigation into the claims made in the voice recording.
Through his legal counsel, Verydarkman emphasised his respect for Mr Falana’s reputation and human rights work, insisting that the appropriate course of action should be an interagency investigation into the allegations, not defamation claims.
The letter, titled “RE: DEMAND FOR WITHDRAWAL AND RETRACTION OF DEFAMATORY STATEMENT AGAINST MR FEMI FALANA, SAN,” reads, “We are Solicitors to Mr. Martins Vincent Otse (hereinafter referred to as our client) on whose instruction we act.
Our client is in receipt of your letter dated September 25, 2024, on the above subject matter wherein you demanded for 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 with a view to getting 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 of September 25, 2024.
“Our client holds Mr. Femi Falana, SAN in very high esteem and recognises his commitment to the protection of human rights and rule of law in Nigeria. It is in the light of the foregoing that our client believes that the appropriate line of action in the circumstance is an interagency investigation into the allegations contained in the voice recording rather than pursuing a case of defamation.”
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