COURT STRIKES OUT FALANA, FALZ CASE AGAINST VERYDARKMAN

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By Motunrayo Aniwura

The defamation suit instituted by renowned human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, and his son, musician and activist Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, against social media personality Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), was on Tuesday struck out by the High Court of Lagos State.

Presiding over the matter, Justice Mathias Dawoodu dismissed the suit during a scheduled hearing, citing procedural concerns and the existence of a related substantive suit pending before another judge, Justice Azeez.

None of the principal parties — Femi Falana, Falz, or Otse — were present in court during the proceedings.

Counsel to the defendant, N.O. Alagbe, who held brief for Marvin Omorogbe, informed the court that an application for a stay of proceedings had been filed on April 14, with the intent of awaiting judgment in the parallel matter. However, Justice Dawoodu expressed concern that the referenced application was not included in the court’s file and questioned why he was being asked to proceed when the main suit was already being handled by another court.

Counsel to the Falanas, Mr. Omotayo Olatunbosun, acknowledged receipt of the application late Monday afternoon but argued that the day’s proceedings were specifically scheduled to address a preliminary objection — a motion he asserted was ripe for hearing. He contended that the application filed by the defence was a delay tactic, emphasizing that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that courts are not bound to act on filings not present in the court’s file.

After listening to both sides, Justice Dawoodu concluded that proceeding with the hearing, in the absence of the relevant documents and considering the overlap with a separate case, would amount to an academic exercise.

“Consequently, this suit is hereby struck out,” the judge ruled.

The Falanas had filed the suit seeking N500 million in damages each, following a viral video posted by Otse on his social media accounts. In the video, Otse alleged that Mr. Falana demanded a N10 million bribe from controversial internet personality Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, in an effort to pervert justice.

It remains unclear whether the plaintiffs will pursue the matter further before Justice Azeez or file a fresh action.