Social critic Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, has denied accusations of defaming rapper Falz and his father, Femi Falana.
This denial comes after Falz issued a 24-hour ultimatum to VeryDarkMan, demanding the removal of statements linking him and his father to Bobrisky’s money laundering case.
The controversy started when VeryDarkMan released a viral audio clip on September 24, 2024. In this clip, Bobrisky claimed that officials from Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission received N15 million to dismiss charges against him. Bobrisky also suggested that Falz and his father were involved in this deal.
In a legal letter dated September 25, 2024, Falz’s lawyers stated that he had never spoken with Bobrisky and described VeryDarkMan’s comments as “offensive and derogatory.”
They demanded an immediate retraction and apology, warning that if he failed to comply, they would take legal action for defamation, which could include monetary damages.
Falz emphasized that he never reached out to Bobrisky and that VeryDarkMan did not contact him before making the claims which also included insinuations of homosexuality.
In response, VeryDarkMan’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, released a statement defending him. “Our client denies defaming Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, whom he respects greatly,” Adeyanju said. He explained that VeryDarkMan shared the audio to encourage a thorough investigation into Bobrisky’s allegations.
The letter from VeryDarkMan’s legal team stated: “He only published the said communication with a view to getting the relevant agencies, and even your client, to initiate a thorough investigation into the far-reaching allegations made by Mr. Okuneye.”
VeryDarkMan insisted that he did not mean to harm the reputations of Falz or his father. Instead, he aimed to draw attention to serious claims made by Bobrisky that he felt needed further examination by the authorities.
