Nigerian rapper Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, has responded to recent allegations made by social media influencer Martins Otse, known as Verydarkman, insisting that the claims against him are baseless and defamatory.
Speaking on the issue on The Afro Beat Podcast published on Wednesday via YouTube, Falz stated that before the controversy, he knew little about Verydarkman’s activism.
“I don’t know much of it. I’ll be honest with you,” he stated, acknowledging that he had seen some of the influencer’s early content, particularly related to issues like the sale of unregulated bleaching products.
“At that time when I saw some of those clips, I was like, okay, this person seems to be doing something right. This is a good cause,” he added.
The controversy began when Verydarkman made grievous allegations that Falz and his father, Femi Falana, SAN, had colluded with certain individuals to manipulate justice.
According to the rapper, VeryDarkMan accused him of having a same-sex relationship with popular crossdresser Bobrisky, questioning the rapper’s credibility as an activist.
Speaking on the allegations, Falz expressed his shock, saying, “Howl would anyone feel? These are horrible things to say. Absolutely no proof.”
He berated the influencer for making unfounded claims without evidence.
He said, “All these things are false, basically. So now you have to defend yourself because he who alleges must prove. I’ve gone to court for defamation of character because that’s clearly what this is.”
Falz also addressed recent misinformation, noting that while the court did not impose a financial settlement, it did compel Verydarkman to remove the defamatory video.
He said, “Now, recently it was reported that the court has ordered N500 million to be paid. Blah, blah, I mean, that’s false. The case of defamation is still very much in court. Yes, we have instituted proceedings for defamation because, of course, that is what this is.
“That is very much still ongoing. However, there’s something called interim applications, which you can do while a substantive case is still ongoing. You can apply to the court for an injunction because this defamation still exists.
“This video I speak of is still very much on his page, on his pages. He has not taken them down.”
“The ruling that the court gave was to take this down and desist from any further defamatory remarks pending the determination of this substantive suit. That is what that is.”
