Court adjourns Falana’s defamation suit against VeryDarkMan to January 2025

An Ikeja High Court has scheduled January 23, 2025 to hear the defamation lawsuit filed against VeryDarkMan by human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and his son, Folarin, also known as Falz.

When the case was called on Thursday, counsel to Falana and Falz, Mr Muiz Banire (SAN), informed the court that the claimants had filed the originating process and served to the parties.

Banire also said a motion on notice was served on Oct. 25, but Justice Matthias Dawodu said the originating process was not before the court.

The claimant’s counsel, however, prayed the court to adjourn the case to enable him file administrative processes.

In his response, counsel to VeryDarkMan, Mr Marvin Omorogbe, said it had been observed that there was no valid writ of summon before the court.

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He, therefore, prayed the court to strike out the lawsuit. Omorogbe said he did not know how the registry of the court would prepare any administrative process.

He opined that the writ already filed was invalid as it was not before the court. According to him, the writ bears the same suit number as the preemptive remedy proceedings.

Omorogbe further urged the court to withdraw a motion dated Oct. 18. He said the motion was a move to appeal on the ground that the claimants had admitted, there was an issue in respect to the preemptive proceedings.

Justice Dawodu, however, struck out the motion, following no objections from the claimants counsel. “I will give you a date for hearing because we are talking about a writ that is not before the court,” Dawodu said.

The judge thereafter adjourned the case until January 23, 2025 for hearing of the preliminary objections. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court also adjourned the sister case involving Falz and VDM on the same ground.