The Federal High Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has struck out a defamation case filed by renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, musician and actor Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, against controversial social media personality Martins Otse, also known as Verydarkman.
Presiding judge, Justice Matthias Idowu, delivered the ruling on Tuesday during the defendant’s re-arraignment. The court held that the defamation suit was already being heard in a separate court, making the current trial redundant.
The Falanas had demanded N500 million in damages over a video posted by Verydarkman, alongside an audio recording attributed to cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky. The content was alleged to be defamatory, accusing the Falanas of obstructing justice.
Neither Femi nor Falz appeared in court during the proceedings. However, the defendant’s counsel, Niyi Alagbe, referenced a prior application seeking a stay of proceedings, which was acknowledged by the Falanas’ lawyer, Omotayo Olatunbosun. Despite this, Olatunbosun urged the court to proceed.
Justice Idowu noted that there was no formal record of the application in the case file and emphasized that continuing with the matter would be legally unnecessary.
“Consequently, this suit is hereby struck out,” he ruled.
