Mr Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has drawn a line in the sand with Martins Vincent Otse, alias I’ve never spoken to Bobrisky in my life, Falana says as he demands apology from VeryDarkBlackman, over his viral video that the former and his son, Fatz collected N10 million from Bobrisky, the cross-dresser to process his pardon, having been jailed for naira abuse.
The senior lawyer said that he had never spoken to Bobrisky in his life.
I’ve never spoken to Bobrisky in my life, Falana says as he demands apology from VeryDarkBlackman claimed in a viral video that he had Bobrisky on audio recording, making the above allegations. Worse still, the video claimed that Bobrisky allegedly paid some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials N15 million to get a plea bargain to drop money laundering charges against him.
According to a letter by Falana’s lawyer, Taiwo E. Olawanle, “We, therefore, demand immediate retraction of the offensive and derogatory publication as well as an apology prominently published in all the platforms to which you have disseminated it without any justification whatsoever.
Be advised that if we do not receive your formal retraction and apology as demanded within 24 (twenty-four) hours of the receipt hereof, we shall proceed with our client’s instructions to seek appropriate legal remedies, including monetary damages, against you for your incendiary publication and dissemination of defamatory statements.”
September 25, 2024
Martins Vincent Otse,
Supreme Court Quarters,
Karu Abuja.
Instagram: @verydarkblackman
twitter: @thatverydarkmnn
DEMAND FOR WITHDRAWAL AND RETRACTION OF DEFAMATORY STATEMENT AGAINST MR FEMI FALANA SAN
We are Counsel to Mr Femi Falana SAN (hereinafter referred to as “our client”) on whose behalf we write this letter regarding your publication and dissemination of defamatory statements against him.
Your publication of September 25, 2024, on your Instagram page captioned “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…” refers.
In publishing the statement on several online platforms, you informed your large viewership that Mr. Femi Falana “spoke to Bobrisky to divert justice”.
Your publication contained multiple allegations and you did not expect Mr Femi Falana, who was a lawyer to the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, whom everyone respects to “engage in something like this?”.
Your publication further alleged that Mr Femi Falana SAN wanted to get a presidential pardon for Bobrisky for the sum of N10,000,000.00 (Ten million Naira only).
As if that was not enough, you proceeded to state as follows:
i “I don’t even believe that Femi Falana would bring himself down to this level, the whole Femi Falana would engage himself with something like this”
ii “…the man started the pardon and he said he wanted to send it to the Minister of Justice in Abuja who will send it to the president to approve it but you know Nigeria with corruption.”
iii. “…Femi FALANA collected N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) in order to wipe his name off record. These are people I respected. These are people I look up to…it is obvious that Nigeria will not go anywhere soon.”
The direct meaning of the imputation, and/or innuendo contained in ithe false, misleading and defamatory statements is that:
- Mr Femi Falana is deceitful and that his motivation for fighting against injustice and corruption in Nigeria and the entire Africa is a ruse.
- Mr Femi Falana spoke to Bobrisky to divert justice with a view to perverting justice for financial gains and material benefits.
- Mr. Femi Falana solicited a brief from Bobrisky and thereby contravened the Legal Practitioner Rules of Professional Conduct.
- Mr Femi Falana has participated in a device that constitutes subterfuge in concert with others who you also characterized as corrupt.
- Mr Falana’s fight against injustice is inconsistent with his publicly acclaimed and validated record of competence, honesty and integrity.
- Mr Falana who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria has engaged in conduct that is incompatible with his profession role and duty as a legal practitioner in Nigeria.
The entire publication was 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. WE WISH TO STATE, WITHOUT ANY
FEAR OF CONTRADICTION, THAT OUR CLIENT HAS NEVER, IN HIS LIFE, SPOKEN TO BROBRISKY ON HIS ALLEGED PARDON OR ON ANY MATTER WHATSOEVER.
While you are free to exercise your fundamental right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution, you are duty bound to ensure that what you publish and disseminate is credible and factual in every material particular. In other words, you have no right under the law to damage the reputation of any citizen by spreading baseless allegations based on sheer falsehood.
We, therefore, demand immediate retraction of the offensive and derogatory publication as well as an apology prominently published in all the platforms to which you have disseminated it without any justification whatsoever.
Be advised that if we do not receive your formal retraction and apology as demanded within 24 (twenty-four) hours of the receipt hereof, we shall proceed with our client’s instructions to seek appropriate legal remedies, including monetary damages, against you for your incendiary publication and dissemination of defamatory statements.
We hope that the salient issue raised herein will urgently be addressed by you in your own interest.
Yours sincerely,
Taiwo E. Olawanle, Esq.