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
Emmanuel Ukudolo I Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024
LAGOS, Nigeria – Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana has written to Nigerian blogger, Mr. Martins Vincent Otse better known on the social media as ‘theverydarkman’ advising him to retract within 24 hours, defamatory statement he made in the video he caused to be published on his Instagram page.
Writing through his lawyer, Taiwo E. Olawanle, Esq., the Senior Advocate was infuriated that the blogger made derogatory statements he knew to be false which impugned on the integrity he laboured to build in decades of meritorious professional practice in Nigeria and abroad.
The lawyer specifically alluded to the caption: “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…”
The lawyer averred that in publishing the statement on several online platforms, the publisher informed his large viewership that Mr. Femi Falana ‘spoke to Bobrisky in order to divert justice’.
He spoke further: “Your publication contained multiple allegations and that 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)”, the lawyer said.
He was pained that the blogger went a step further to make other derogatory statements he knew were totally false and reproduced his statements as follows:
1.“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”
- “…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.”
- “…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.”
Falana’s counsel summed up the direct meaning of the imputation, and/or innuendo contained in the false, misleading and defamatory statements in six paragraphs:
- 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 lawyer described the entire publication as vicious, wicked and a reckless ploy to impugn the reputation of Mr. Femi Falana SAN and lower him in the estimation of right-thinking members of the public.
The lawyer added that Falana has never in his life spoken to Bobrisky 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”, the lawyer said.
He thereafter demanded an immediate retraction of the offensive and derogatory publication as well as an apology prominently published in all the platforms to which the publisher has disseminated it without any justification whatsoever.
He warned: “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”, Falana said through his lawyer.
