Femi Falana, a human rights activist and lawyer, and his son Folarin, sometimes called Falz, have called for a public apology and the removal of defamatory remarks made by well-known crossdresser Idris Okuneye, better known as Bobrisky, in audio recordings that are making the rounds online.
Bobrisky claimed to have spoken with Falz in one of the audios released by controversial media critic Martin Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan, asking for his help in convincing his father (Falana) to help obtain a presidential pardon, which reportedly cost N10 million.
Additionally, the transvestite claimed that in order to obtain preferential treatment at Kirikiri Correctional Center, he requested N3 million from Falz.
In a different audio clip that VeryDarkMan posted, Bobrisky stated that he had paid N5 million in advance to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in an effort to get the Federal Government to drop the accusations the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had brought against him.
However, Bobrisky was charged with making false and defamatory statements regarding Falana and his son’s involvement in the alleged bribery and pardon in a letter dated October 14, 2024, which our correspondent saw and which was sent by Falana’s attorneys, Olorunfemi Akinyemi and Taiwo E. Olawanle.
Bobrisky’s allegations were deemed completely baseless and detrimental to Falana’s reputation by the legal team. They called for a complete apology and retraction to be posted on all websites where the remarks were disseminated.
We are counsel representing Mr. Femi Falana SAN and Mr. Folarin Falana alias Falz (henceforth referred to as “our clients”), and on their behalf we write this letter in response to your defamatory remarks against them,” the letter stated.
We have verified that you exploited your recent incarceration to demand money from a number of artists and other people.
In order to obtain special treatment at Kirikiri Correctional Center, you called Mr. Folarin Falana, also known as Falz, on May 4, 2024, and asked for N3,000,000 (three million naira).
“You falsely claimed in a video that Falz told you his father, our client, had agreed to issue a letter of pardon for you, even though he denied your request. Additionally, you mentioned that our client had contacted you and that in order to execute your pardon, officials needed to be bribed with N10,000,000 (ten million naira).
The letter went on to say, “In another video, you stated that you had paid a Senior Advocate of Nigeria N5,000,000 (five million naira) in advance to obtain a Federal Government pardon over charges brought against you by the EFCC. You further claimed that the Senior Advocate had originally asked for N10,000,000 (ten million naira) for his legal services, but you were unable to raise the entire sum since your account was frozen.
Bobrisky’s accusations were intended to extort money from the public and damage Falana’s professional reputation, according to Falana’s legal team, who underlined that no such conversation had ever occurred.
In actuality, you have released a list of people who paid millions of naira to our client to create a letter of pardon and bribe public officials on your behalf because they thought your tale was false.
“Your decision to enlist our customer in your illegal operations was entirely a fantasy.
The letter further said, “You never gave our client instructions to write a letter of pardon for you, despite your ludicrous claims.”
The legal team also emphasized that Bobrisky had never communicated with Falana or given him instructions to compose a letter of pardon. Additionally, the N5 million payment claim was rejected as unfounded.
“It is obvious that you made these careless defamatory remarks while fully aware that you neglected to call our client to ask for a letter of pardon. The attorneys said that their client had never discussed your pardon or any other issue with them.
Your disparaging remarks have seriously harmed our client’s reputation both domestically and abroad, considering that he has obtained pardons for more than 300 Nigerians who were found guilty by military and civilian courts in Nigeria, Libya, Thailand, and The Gambia on a pro gratis basis.
Thus, we demand that you immediately retract your disparaging and defamatory remarks and provide a widely publicized apology on all venues where your false words have been disseminated.
“We shall follow our client’s instructions to pursue legal remedies, including pursuing monetary damages for your deliberately defamatory claims, if we do not get your formal retraction and apology within 12 (twelve) hours of receiving this letter.
The legal team came to the conclusion, “We hope you will urgently address the issues raised herein in your own best interest.”
According to the reports, VeryDarkMan has been ordered by the Lagos State High Court to take offensive remarks and videos about Falana and his son Folarin down from his social media accounts.
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