Social media influencer Martins Otse aka VeryDarkMan has said he did not defame human rights lawyer Femi Falana.
VeryDarkMan recently posted on Instagram a leaked audio of Bobrisky indicting musician Falz and his father Mr Falana.
In the leaked audio, the crossdresser claimed Falz and Falana contacted him while he was on a six-month prison sentence for abuse of the naira to help him secure a ‘presidential pardon’.
However, in response to the allegation and others, Falz, in a statement, asked VeryDarkMan to retract his “defamatory” statement about him in 24 hours or face legal consequences.
VeryDarkMan replied through his lawyer Deji Adeyanju, saying he respects Falana and did not defame him.
The statement read: “We’re solicitors to Mr Martins Vicent Otse, now referred to as our client, on whose instruction we act. Our client received your letter dated September 25, 2024, on the above subject matter wherein you demanded 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 to get 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 dated 25 September 2024.”
VeryDarkMan’s lawyer stressed that the primary focus should be investigating the allegations Bobrisky allegedly made against certain EFCC officers rather than pursuing a defamation case.
“Our client holds Mr Femi Falana, SAN, in high esteem and recognises his commitment to protecting human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. In light of the preceding, our client believes that the appropriate line of action in the circumstances is an interagency investigation into the allegations contained in the voice recording rather than pursuing a case of defamation”, he said.
In a Facebook post, Adeyanju urged Falz to focus on Bobrisky, having acknowledged the call.
“For Falz: he should go and meet Bob about everything he/she said. Falz even admitted to having a phone call with Bob. End of discussion,” he wrote.
