A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has dismissed the preliminary objection filed by social media influencer Mr. Martins Vincent Otse (popularly known as VeryDarkMan or VDM) in a N1 billion defamation suit brought against him by human rights lawyer Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, Mr. Folarin Falana, also known as Falz.

The Falanas had accused VeryDarkMan of defamation of character in a video published on the defendant’s Instagram page on September 24, 2024.

While ruling on the preliminary objection, Justice Fimisola Azeez dismissed the application and ordered VeryDarkMan to pay costs totalling N200,000 — that is, N100,000 each to Femi Falana and Folarin Falana.

The judge also directed the defendant to immediately file his defence in the two suits instituted by the claimants.

When the case was called on Tuesday, Mr. Femi Falana was absent but was represented by his counsel, Mr. Ernest Olawanle and Mr. Femi Akinyemi. The second claimant, Mr. Folarin Falana (Falz), was present in court.

The respondent, VeryDarkMan , was also absent but was represented by his counsel, Mr. Marvin Omorogbe.

The claimants, in two separate suits, accused the social media influencer of character assassination and urged the court to compel him to apologise and refrain from making further defamatory publications.

In their pleadings, the Falanas prayed the court to restrain VDM from further tarnishing their image by publishing the same or similar defamatory statements.

They also asked the court to declare that the publication made by the defendant on September 24, 2024, via his Instagram handle @verydarkblackman, where he specifically targeted the claimants, was libellous, injurious, derogatory, scandalous, and defamatory.

The claimants demanded that VeryDarkMan pay N500 million each, totalling N1 billion for the defamation contained in the said video publication.

Furthermore, they sought a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents, or representatives from further publishing or causing the publication of the same or similar defamatory content.

They also urged the court to order the defendant to publish an apology on all his social media handles and in one national daily newspaper for the defamatory statements contained in the video.

In response, the defendant filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the suits for lack of jurisdiction. He argued that the Lagos High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case on the grounds that the alleged offences were committed outside its territorial jurisdiction.

The claimants, as respondents to the preliminary objection, filed a counter-affidavit and a written address, urging the court to dismiss the objection.

Following the ruling, Justice Azeez adjourned the matter to July 8, 2025, for mention and to allow the defendant to file his defence.

Meanwhile, Justice Mathias Dawodu had, on April 15, 2025, struck out a preemptive action earlier filed by the claimants. He ruled that the case was already being heard by another judge, making the preemptive action redundant.

The matter had previously come up for hearing of the preliminary objections filed against the claimants’ earlier preemptive application, which had been granted on October 14, 2024.

In compliance with that October 14 order, the claimants filed the substantive suit now before Justice Azeez of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja.

However, Mr. Otse (VDM) filed another notice of preliminary objection, claiming there was a multiplicity of actions based on the expired preemptive application.

He also filed an application for a stay of proceedings, which was struck out by the court on the grounds that a substantive suit was already ongoing before another judge.

At the April 15, 2025 proceedings, Justice Dawodu held that the matter had become spent and was now merely academic.

The judge stated, “The matter can no longer stand because it has no legs and, therefore, sustaining it would amount to a waste of precious judicial time.”

He therefore struck out the preliminary objection.