The Federal High Court has ordered social media critic Martin Otse, aka VeryDarkMan, to remove defamatory posts targeting human rights lawyer Femi Falana and his son, Folarin Falz.
Justice M.O. Dawodu made the ruling on Monday in response to a lawsuit filed by Falana and Falz.
The controversy began when VeryDarkMan shared a recorded conversation involving Idris Okuneye (Bobrisky), who sought financial assistance and legal help from Falz to secure a presidential pardon. VeryDarkMan's posts insinuated that Falz and his father were involved in the alleged bribery scheme.
However, during a hearing with the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Financial Crimes and Reformatory Institutions, VeryDarkMan claimed he didn't believe Falana was involved in the bribery and apologized for including his name in the audio.
The court's ruling mandates VeryDarkMan to remove defamatory videos and comments from his social media platforms and refrain from publishing further defamatory content about Falana and Falz. He must also comply with the Pre-Action Protocol within 21 days.
Falana's legal team had demanded a retraction of the defamatory statements, stating that VeryDarkMan knew the claims were false but published them to harm their reputation.
This development highlights the importance of responsible social media usage and the legal consequences of spreading false information.
