Crime

Court Orders Arrest of Activist VeryDarkMan Over Alleged Defamation

Published by Tope Fakinlede on March 13th, 2025.

Court Orders Arrest of Activist VeryDarkMan Over Alleged Defamation

A bench warrant has been issued by the Chief Magistrate Court at Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, for the arrest of blogger Martins Vincent Otse, known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), in connection with alleged defamation against gospel singer Mercy Chinwo.

According to reports from ThisDay Nigeria, the court has directed the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other law enforcement agencies to apprehend VDM and bring him before the court to face the criminal defamation charges.

The order was issued by Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna on Thursday, March 13, 2025, after VDM failed to appear in court following a summons on March 5, 2025. Despite the appeal from VDM’s attorney, Deji Adeyanju, requesting reconsideration of the bench warrant, the magistrate maintained that VDM should be brought in by security forces.

The defamation charges stem from social media posts by VDM, where he accused Mercy Chinwo of being involved in a financial dispute and the alleged misappropriation of $345,000 related to her former record label executive, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu, also known as Eezee Tee.

Chinwo’s legal team presented evidence, including emails and payment receipts, asserting that the accusations made by VDM were entirely unfounded and harmful to her personal and professional reputation.

Her lawyers, led by Pelumi Olajengbesi of the Law Corridor firm in Abuja, argued that VDM’s actions violated Section 391 of the Penal Code and Section 24(1)(B) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015.

In addition, Chinwo has filed a separate lawsuit in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, seeking N1.1 billion in damages and demanding that VDM retract and apologize publicly for the defamatory statements.