Falana, Falz give Bobrisky 12-hour ultimatum to retract defamatory claims

Femi Falana, the human rights activist, and his son Falz have demanded a public apology and retraction of the alleged defamatory statements made by crossdresser Bobrisky.

Recently, activist VeryDarkMan shared a purported audio conversation wherein Bobrisky claimed that Falana and his son Falz contacted her while she was serving a six-month sentence for naira abuse.

In the recording, Bobrisky alleged that Falz and his father “tried to get me a presidential pardon in exchange for N10 million”.

Bobrisky has since denied the recording and threatened to sue VeryDarkMan for defamation.

Falana and Falz, born Folarin Falana, also threatened to institute legal action against the activist if he fails to retract his comments and apologise.

On Tuesday, an Ikeja high court ordered the activist to desist from further circulating or publishing defamatory videos or comments about Falana and Falz.

Earlier, VeryDarkMan requested that Falana should include Bobrisky in the lawsuit against him.

But in a letter dated October 14, 2024, Olorunfemi Akinyemi and Taiwo E. Olawanle, Falana’s lawyers, accused Bobrisky of making false and defamatory statements about the senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and his son.

The letter described Bobrisky’s alleged defamatory statements as “recklessly” aimed at “damaging Falana’s reputation locally and internationally”.

They also demanded Bobrisky “issue an immediate retraction” within 12 hours, failure of which would attract further legal remedies.

“We are Counsel to Mr. Femi Falana SAN and Mr. Folarin Falana aka Falz (hereinafter referred to as ‘our clients’), on whose behalf we write this letter regarding your slanderous statements against them,” the letter partly reads. 

“We have confirmed that you took advantage of your recent imprisonment to extort money from a group of artists and other members of the public.

“In fact, you have published a list of individuals who believed your fabricated story and contributed millions of naira, supposedly to pay our client to write a letter of pardon and bribe public officers on your behalf.

“Your decision to involve our client in your criminal activities was purely a figment of your imagination.

“Contrary to your baseless claims, you never instructed our client to write a letter of pardon for you. 

“It is clear that you made these defamatory statements recklessly, knowing full well that you did not call our client to request a letter of pardon. Our client has NEVER spoken to you regarding your pardon or any other matter.

“We, therefore, demand an immediate retraction of your defamatory and derogatory statements, along with a prominently aired or published apology on all platforms where your false statements have been shared.

“If we do not receive your formal retraction and apology within 12 (twelve) hours of your receipt of this letter, we will proceed with our client’s instructions to pursue legal remedies, including seeking monetary damages, for your malicious defamatory statements.”