A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Thursday adjourned the N1 billion defamation suit filed by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son Folarin, popularly known as Falz, against Martins Otse alias VeryDarkBlackMan, to 19 February 2025.
The court fixed the date to hear a preliminary objection filed by VeryDarkBlackMan, through his lawyer, Marvin Omorogbe, challenging the suit’s competence and the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.
The Falanas had dragged VeryDarkBlackMan before the court and demanded N500 million each as damages over a video he posted on his social media platforms alleging that they collected N10 million from Idris Okuneye, a.k.a Bobrisky, to pervert the cause of justice.
The judge had, on the last adjourned date, 14 October 2024, ordered the social media influencer to bring down the defamatory video and comments he allegedly made against the senior lawyer and his son.
Justice Matthias Dawodu had also restrained the self-acclaimed social media police from further releasing, publishing, or circulating any defamatory videos and comments against the senior lawyer and his son on all his online social media handles and pages pending the hearing of a suit filed by the duo.
The judge also ordered that all the processes in the matter be served on VeryDarkBlackMan through his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, the defence counsel, Marvin Omorogbe, informed the court that he was served with a copy of the counter-affidavit filed by the plaintiffs against his preliminary objection on Wednesday, and he needed time to respond to it.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Omotade Omotunbosun, did not object to the application for adjournment.
Following the development, Justice Dawodu adjourned the matter to 19 February 2025, for a hearing.
In the application, VeryDarkBlackMan argued through his lawyer that by the provisions of Order 4 Rule 1(4) of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, the court does not have the territorial jurisdiction to entertain this suit.
Omorogbe also argued that the defendant is domiciled and carries on business in Abuja, outside the jurisdiction of the court and that the alleged defamatory publication was made in Abuja.
He also claimed that the claimants deliberately filed the suit before the court as a way of forum shopping in the hope that they would get a favourable judgment.
In their suits, the father and son averred that the defendant knew all his comments were inaccurate and not verified, yet proceeded to publish the same to injure their reputation recklessly.
They also stated that the alleged defamatory publication was still trending in the defendant’s online handles and pages, adding that the injury to their reputation continues as long as the publication remains online.
The applicant alleged that in the unverified audio recording of a one-sided narrative by the alleged Bobrisky, the said Bobrisky never said that the claimant/applicant herein collected N10 million from him, yet the defendant recklessly stated that Femi Falana collected N10 million from Bobrisky.
The Falanas are seeking the following reliefs: “a declaration that the publication of the defendant made on 24 September 2024, on his Instagram handle, @verydarkblackman, wherein he specifically targeted the Claimant, is libellous, slanderous, derogatory, scandalous and defamatory.
“The sum of N500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira Only) for defamation of character contained in the defendant’s video publication of 24 September 2024, on his Instagram handle @verydarkblackman.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents or servants or otherwise from further publishing or causing to be published the said or similar words of defamatory to the claimant.
“An order directing the defendant to publish an apology to the claimant on all his social media handles/pages for the defamatory words contained in the video complained of and in one National Daily Newspaper”.
