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LAGOS, Nigeria - The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has dismissed the defamation lawsuit brought against social media activist Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), by human rights lawyer Femi Falana and his son Folarin, also referred to as Falz.
The Falana family had accused the defendant and sought ₦500 million each in damages due to a video he shared on social media, claiming they received ₦10 million from Idris Okuneye, known as Bobrisky, to obstruct justice.
During a re-arraignment of Verdarkman on Tuesday, Presiding Judge Matthias Idowu ruled that the main case from the claimants was already in front of a different court, indicating that the defendant's trial at the High Court was unnecessary.
In the absence of the litigants, the counsel for the respondent, Niyi Alagbe, mentioned that there had been a previous request for a stay of proceedings, which was acknowledged by counsel for the Falanas, Omotayo Olatunbosun.
Olatunbosun, however, requested the court to continue with the case.
Nevertheless, Justice Dawodu noted that the request was not included in the case file at the court, and therefore, insisting on proceeding with the lawsuit would be an academic exercise since the main case is before another judge. "As a result, this suit is hereby struck out," the judge declared.
