A High Court in Ikeja has dismissed a defamation suit brought against popular Instagram activist Martins Otse, better known as Verydarkman (VDM), by renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, rapper and actor Falz.
The legal action was linked to a viral audio recording allegedly made by cross-dresser Idris Okunneye, widely known as Bobrisky.
The recording reportedly accused Falana and his son of attempting to obstruct justice.
Following this, VDM posted a video discussing the audio on his social media pages, prompting the Falanas to seek N500 million each as compensation for defamation.
When the case was called on Tuesday, none of the parties involved — including Falana, Falz, and VDM — were present in court.
During the session, VDM’s lawyer, Niyi Alagbe, who represented lead counsel Marvin Omorogbe, informed the court that an application had already been filed before Justice Fimisola Azeez, asking for a stay of proceedings in the matter.
Responding to this, the Falanas’ lawyer, Omotayo Olatunbosun, said he received the new application late Monday afternoon.
He insisted that the court should continue with the preliminary objection hearing, which had already been scheduled for the day. He claimed the new application was merely a tactic to delay the case.
Justice Matthias Dawodu, however, stated that the application referred to by the defence was not in the court’s file.
He also questioned why he was handling the matter when the main case was already before another judge.
The judge then decided to strike out the case, noting that it would be pointless to proceed with the hearing when the core suit was already under the jurisdiction of a different court.
“This matter is hereby struck out,” Justice Dawodu ruled.
