Human rights lawyer and activist Inibehe Effiong has sharply criticized social media influencer Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, for denying allegations of defamation against prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN. The controversy stems from corruption allegations connected to cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
VeryDarkMan had claimed that Falana was involved in diverting justice by speaking with Bobrisky, a claim Falana has since denied. Effiong scolded the influencer, stating that his expectation for Falana to address Bobrisky instead of himself, who published the defamatory audio, demonstrated an “acute lack of knowledge of the law of libel.”
VeryDarkMan has called for a thorough investigation into the matter, asserting that his comments were not intended to defame Falana, and claiming he had received additional information implicating officials from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
In response, Falana’s legal team, through a letter dated September 25, 2024, and signed by Taiwo E. Olawanle, Esq., firmly denied any communication with Bobrisky regarding the alleged pardon or any other matters. The senior lawyer described the claims as baseless and an attempt to tarnish his reputation, further escalating tensions surrounding the case.
VeryDarkMan also alleged that Falana sought a presidential pardon for Bobrisky in exchange for N10 million.
The letter outlines that these allegations are defamatory and that they accused Falana of engaging in deceitful conduct and undermining his integrity.
But reacting in an Instagram post, VeryDarkMan claimed that he possesses further damning evidence to support his exposé regarding Bobrisky and the voice note in which the crossdresser allegedly claimed to have served his sentence in a private apartment.
However, reacting to VeryDarkMan’s denial of the defamation and his claim, Inibehe in a post on social media said, “Saying that you expected Femi Falana to write to Bobrisky and not you who actually published the defamatory matter, is just a demonstration of your acute lack of knowledge of the law of libel.”
According to the lawyer, “Even if you want to plead the defence of fair comment in court, your personal and highly prejudicial comments makes it improbable for you to prevail.”
Inibehe said “If reasonable and right thinking members of the society can deduce from your statement that you were referring to the claimant, and that the claimant’s estimation is lowered on account of your statement, you are liable.
“It is elementary law that there is a distinction between the writing or authoring of a defamatory matter and publication of a defamatory matter.
“Publication arises when what is said or written is brought to the notice of the whole world or third parties. That is what gives rise to a cause of action and not the mere authoring of the matter.
“Assuming the audio is credible, the person who recorded it only authored it. I am using the word “assuming” intentionally because Falz has strongly disputed the substance of his conversation with Bobrisky.
“Bobrisky did not publish the audio.”
He further explained that the person who published the audio is primarily liable for the injury suffered by those affected by it.
According to him, “Asking Falana to approach Bobrisky and not you is ludicrous. The law does not work that way.
“I am passionately interested in sanitizing our country’s institutions. I know that the Correctional Service in Nigeria is corrupt and requires radical reforms.
“However, if you’re going to accuse a lawyer or anyone for that matter of aiding a prisoner to avoid jail time or to serve imprisonment outside the custodial centre, you should have solid facts to substantiate it.
“If you’re going to propagate that a lawyer wanted to pervert the course of justice through bribery or any other way, you should have more than ‘courage’.
“You didn’t just publish the purported audio, you went ahead to offer personal opinions and commentaries which has adversely impacted the reputation of Mr. Falana.
“You even said you’ve lost respect for him, and that someone who defended Fela shouldn’t be involved in such an act. Is that still within permissible limits of fair comment?
“The fact that many people online have made negative comments about Falana on account on your publication is evidence that his reputation has been lowered.”
The lawyer said that if Bobrisky wanted a pardon and briefed Falana to make the application on his behalf, “Is Falana supposed to do so pro bono?
“Now that Mr. Falana has denied ever having such discussion with Bobrisky, you are still grandstanding and asserting that you haven’t defamed him.
“Suggesting that Falana demanded for N10 million to bribe someone to facilitate an application for pardon is a grave allegation.
“By the way, the said audio is not from a phone conversation between Bobrisky and Falz. It is supposedly between Bobrisky and a yet to be identified third party.
“This makes the case of defamation more compelling. If you have the voice record of the call between Bobrisky and Falz that substantiates your assertions and innuendos, put it out for everyone to listen to. If you don’t have it, you will need more than grandstanding to succeed.”
Inibehe said he supports the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) call for an independent investigation into Bobrisky’s case.
