Deji Adeyanju, the lawyer representing social media influencer Martins Otse who is popularly known as VeryDarkMan said his client didn't defame human rights lawyer, Femi Falana in his recent expose.

On Tuesday, September 24, VeryDarkMan released audio on his Instagram where the popular crossdresser indicted Falz and his father.

In the audio that has become the subject of intense controversy, Bobrisky said Falz had contacted him while he was imprisoned at Kirikiri Correctional Centre to help him secure a ‘presidential pardon’.

Recall that in April, Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison for naira abuse by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Lagos Federal High Court while the money laundering charge against him was dropped.

Bobrisky served a six-month prison sentence at Kirikiri Correctional Centre, starting on 24 March, and was released on 5 August.

But in response to the presidential pardon allegation and others, Falz, in a statement, demanded VeryDarkMan to retract his defamatory statement about him.

He also denied Bobrisky’s allegations that he and his father contacted him about a presidential pardon. Falz labelled VeryDarkMan’s statement as defamatory, claiming it damaged his reputation among reasonable people.

Falz, however, demanded that the social media influencer apologise within 24 hours or face legal consequences.

In response to Falz’s demands for a retraction and apology, Mr Adeyanju maintained that VeryDarkMan respects Mr Falana and did not defame him in the video.

Instead, he (VDM) questioned the validity of Bobrisky’s claims in the leaked audio.

The statement read: “We’re solicitors to Mr Martins Vicent Otse, now referred to as our client, on whose instruction we act. Our client received your letter dated September 25, 2024, on the above subject matter wherein you demanded the retraction of his Instagram publication containing a voice recording between Mr Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju (Bobrisky) and a third party.

“Our client denies defaming Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, a renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and globally recognised human rights activist, but asserts that he only published the said communication to get the relevant agencies and even your client to initiate a thorough investigation into the far-reaching allegations made by Mr Okuneye in the said voice recording, especially as some element of the voice recording has been confirmed by Mr Folarin Falana in his solicitor’s letter dated 25 September 2024.”

VeryDarkMan’s lawyer emphasized that the primary focus should be investigating the allegations Bobrisky allegedly made against certain EFCC officers rather than pursuing a defamation case.

“Our client holds Mr Femi Falana, SAN, in high esteem and recognises his commitment to protecting human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. In light of the preceding, our client believes that the appropriate line of action in the circumstances is an interagency investigation into the allegations contained in the voice recording rather than pursuing a case of defamation”, Mr Adeyanju said.

In a Facebook post, Mr Adeyanju added that Falz should focus on Bobrisky, having acknowledged the call.

“For Falz: he should go and meet Bob about everything he/she said. Falz even admitted to having a phone call with Bob. End of discussion.”