A Federal High Court in Effurun, Delta State, has ruled against controversial social media critic VeryDarkMan in a defamation case filed by Mr Jollof’s wife, Esinjemiyotan Atsepoyi.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice R. Harriman ordered VeryDarkMan, whose real name is Martins Otse, to pay ₦30 million in damages over defamatory comments he made online against Mrs Atsepoyi.
The court further directed the activist to publicly apologise to the claimant within 14 days by publishing retractions in two national newspapers as well as across all his social media platforms.
The legal battle stemmed from a heated social media clash between VeryDarkMan and Mr Jollof in September 2024. During the online confrontation, VeryDarkMan allegedly accused Mr Jollof’s wife of having affairs with politicians and internet fraudsters in a bid to secure a political appointment for her husband in Delta State.
The allegations immediately sparked controversy online, with Mr Jollof strongly denying the claims and defending his wife publicly.
Following the incident, Mrs Atsepoyi slammed the activist with a ₦500 million defamation suit, insisting that the accusations damaged her reputation and exposed her to public ridicule.
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In its ruling, the court stated that VeryDarkMan failed to provide credible evidence to back up his allegations, describing the statements as defamatory and injurious.
Justice Harriman subsequently awarded ₦20 million as general damages and an additional ₦10 million as aggravated damages against the social media personality.
The court also ordered him to retract all defamatory posts made on September 15, September 16 and the early hours of September 19, 2024. In addition, VeryDarkMan and his associates were restrained from making or spreading further defamatory remarks against Mrs Atsepoyi.
