A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Tuesday struck out the N1 billion defamation suit filed by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, musician Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, against social media personality Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan.
Justice Mathias Dawoodu dismissed the suit after discovering that the substantive matter was already pending before another judge, making any further proceedings before his court unnecessary.
Neither the plaintiffs nor the defendant appeared in court. However, N.O. Alagbe, counsel for the defendant standing in for lead counsel Marvin Omorogbe, informed the court of an application filed on April 14 seeking a stay of proceedings. The application aimed to halt the case until judgment is delivered in a parallel matter before Justice Azeez.
Justice Dawoodu, noting the absence of the application in his file, questioned why his court was being burdened with a matter already being heard elsewhere. He then ruled that proceeding would be inappropriate and consequently struck out the case.
Earlier, Omotayo Olatunbosun, counsel to the Falanas, expressed dissatisfaction with the defence’s tactics, describing the move as a deliberate attempt to delay the case. He referenced a Supreme Court decision that courts are not obliged to act on applications not properly before them.
The Falanas had filed the defamation suit demanding N500 million each in damages from Otse. The action stemmed from a video posted by the social media influencer, where he allegedly accused Femi Falana of demanding a N10 million bribe from controversial crossdresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, to pervert the course of justice.
With the suit struck out, legal analysts say the plaintiffs may either pursue the parallel matter before Justice Azeez or refile if necessary.
