Popular rapper and activist Folarin Falana, also known as Falz, has given social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly called VeryDarkMan (VDM), a 24-hour deadline to retract alleged defamatory statements made against him.
Falz warned that failure to comply would lead to a lawsuit and potential financial damages.
Falz made this known on his X (formerly Twitter) account, where he shared a letter from his legal team, addressed to VDM. The letter, signed by Falz’s counsel, Taiwo E. Olawanle, Esq., demanded the withdrawal of defamatory claims posted on September 25, 2024, on VeryDarkMan’s Instagram page.
According to the letter, VDM’s post implied that Falz was involved in secretive dealings to manipulate the justice system in favor of controversial celebrity Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, during his time in a Lagos custodial facility.
The post in question stated: “In everything and everyone that is mentioned here, I will be disappointed if truly FALZ and his father are involved in this whole Bobrisky issue…”
Falz’s lawyers responded with strong disapproval, describing the post as “a vicious, wicked, and reckless ploy to impugn the reputation of our client and lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of the public.”
While the legal team acknowledged that Falz and Bobrisky had communicated during the latter’s imprisonment, they clarified that it was Bobrisky who initiated the conversation.
“To set the records straight, our client never at any point initiated a conversation with Mr. Idris Okuneye. Our client has documentary evidence that Mr. Idris was in fact the one who initiated a call,” the letter highlighted.
The letter detailed that on May 4, 2024, Bobrisky reached out to Falz, requesting financial aid of N3,000,000 to gain preferential treatment while in prison.
Falz reportedly declined the request and advised Bobrisky against making such payments.
VeryDarkMan’s post also insinuated that Falz was involved in a larger scheme to help Bobrisky secure a presidential pardon at the cost of N10,000,000, an allegation Falz’s legal team described as defamatory and harmful to his image as a human rights activist.
“The direct meaning, imputation, purport, and/or innuendo of the false, misleading and defamatory statement is that our client, Mr. Folarin Falana (Aka Falz), connived with Bobrisky to pervert the cause of justice for financial gains,” the letter stated.
Falz’s legal team demanded an immediate retraction and apology, warning that failure to comply within 24 hours would lead to legal action, including monetary damages. “We, therefore, demand an immediate retraction of the offensive and derogatory publication as well as an apology prominently published on all the platforms to which you have disseminated it,” the letter concluded.
