Lawyer Deji Adeyanju has reacted to the N1.1 billion defamation lawsuit filed by gospel singer Mercy Chinwo against social media critic Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).
It was revealed on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, that Chinwo initiated legal action against VDM over alleged defamatory statements.
The lawsuit, dated March 3, 2025, was filed by Pelumi Olajengbesi, Chinwo’s legal representative, who described VDM’s comments as “libellous, malicious, and damaging” to the singer’s reputation.
Chinwo alleges that VDM made multiple defamatory posts on his Instagram account on February 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, and 17, 2025, accusing her of diverting funds from performances without remitting them to her former record label, Eezee Conceptz, owned by Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu, also known as Eezee Tee.
The lawsuit seeks N1 billion in general damages, N100 million in punitive and aggravated damages, and N25 million in legal costs. Chinwo also demands that VDM delete the alleged defamatory posts and issue a public apology across all his social media platforms and in two widely circulated newspapers.
Reacting to the lawsuit, Adeyanju, who also serves as VDM’s lawyer, dismissed the claims in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday night, joking that his client lacks the financial capacity to pay such an amount.
“I heard somebody sued VDM for N1.1 billion, and I laughed so hard. What I know is that VDM does not have N100k anywhere in the world to give anyone. People just be wasting their time for nothing,” he wrote.
