The lawsuit follows VeryDarkMan's online sharing of an audio recording allegedly featuring Bobrisky claiming to have bribed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with N15 million to dismiss money laundering charges against him.
Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, Nigerian cross-dresser, has threated to take taken legal action against social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, seeking an apology and N1 billion in damages.
The lawsuit follows VeryDarkMan's online sharing of an audio recording allegedly featuring Bobrisky claiming to have bribed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with N15 million to dismiss money laundering charges against him.
Bobrisky denies the allegations, asserting the recording was manipulated and defamatory. The cross-dresser's legal team argues that VeryDarkMan's actions harmed Bobrisky's reputation and seek compensation.
In a notice to VeryDarkMan through his A.R. Omuvwie, Esq. dated 27th September 2024, Bobrisky demanded a written apology published in two national daily newspapers, "a video recording of your apology to our client published on all your social media platforms, an undertaking to desist from reporting, publishing defamatory contents against our client and the payment in favour of our client the sum of 1,000,000,000 as damages within 24 hours of this letter on you via social media or any other means."
The letter which also called for the attention of the Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede and Minister for Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is titled: "Reply To Defamatory Publications, final warning to stop defamatory and blackmail attacks and demand for the sum of one billion naira as damages".
He also demanded that VeryDarkMan pull down what he labelled as "Artificial intelligence audio recording published as a video by you with your defamatory commentary voiceover which you dangerously and recklessly alleged our client, same is not a product of our client, hence the name, description or anything whatsoever ascribed to our client in the process of your publishing the said defamatory material."
Bobrisky, however, warned that if he failed to fulfill and take advantage of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism introduced and stated in this demand notice, "we shall seek legal redress in a court with competent jurisdiction immediately without any further notices to you. We hope that this can be resolved within the next 24hours."
The letter partly reads: "We are solicitor and attorney to Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju a.k.a Bobrisky hereinafter referred to as "our client" he has briefed us and we are conversant with the facts of this matter and on his instruction we write this formal reply and demand notice.
"That our client informed us that in the quest of your social media stardom you have continued to make use of his name, personality and his social media influence to create media buzz for your personal gains.
"That in recent times you alleged our client in one of your trending videos on various social media platforms that various DIGs of the Nigeria Police force, lawmakers, senators and politicians generally were in the habit of having sexual intercourse with our client wherein you are yet to provide proof of same till date.
"That you continued to make reckless and unfounded statement including hearsay statement that you cannot prove against our client not minding his mental health and his general wellbeing including his right to privacy and right to freedom of thought, right to life and other constitutional fundamental rights of our client.
"That one will think that after such attempts against our client that you would exercise some level of caution or restrain, considering the safety and wellbeing of our client but your goals are personal and self uplifting for you and your backers, hence you have made it a life goal task to fulfill it by all means notwithstanding its negative effect on our client and other persons who may be caught in your unguided attacks."
It added, "That it has come to the attention of our client that you recently published an Artificial intelligence generated audio call, claiming that same was between an unnamed individual and our client, for the record our client never had any audio conversation with this fellow who you claim to represent and that your act of defamation and blackmail should be withdrawn against our client within 24 hours of the service of this letter of demand via social media platforms.
"That your Artificial intelligence generated audio conversation published by you is the brainwork of you and any other person that worked with you to create same, we therefore warn going forward that you remove our client's name from the said recording or anything that may connect our client to the alleged recording. For the record our client had no idea of such telephone conversation with you or any other person.
"That it has come to our notice that since the publication of the said blackmail material and defamatory content by you, our client has suffered immense damages and has gotten several damaging review of his person, his brand and everything he holds dear, just like you threatened in the video earlier published on Tuesday the 24h day of September 2024, stating that failure to pay the demanded sum you would published a damming video and that our client would loss friends not knowing that the said damming video and recording was a defamatory content created by you to put our client in bad light and for your purpose of blackmail and that one would wonder after the payment you still went ahead to publish false information about our client because you have up your sleeves dangerous agendas to accomplish against our client."
"That our client by this letter put you to strict proof in respect to the authenticity of the said audio recording and that he never had a phone conversation with you or anybody represented by you, so it is quite shocking to our client that you would publish an Artificial intelligence generated audio recording to damage the social standing of our client and to put our client's life in harm's way, solely for your selfish personal goals.
"That you alone and anybody working together with you owe the authorities, security agencies and the respected amiable legal and human right fighter explanation as to how you created the audio recording, defamatory words used including your very confident defamatory commentary before and after the Artificial intelligence audio recording.
"For the record our client has and did not alleged any agency or person of bribe or wrong doing hence the burden lies on you to prove to the authorities and the amiable respected personalities you have alleged and defamed, for the records our client served his prison time within the correctional facility in Lagos State hence it is laughable that anyone would believe your Artificial intelligence audio recording stating otherwise."