A Federal High Court sitting in Effurun, Delta State, has ordered social media personality, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to pay ₦30 million in damages to Mrs Esinjemiyotan Uruneyonjuyei Atsepoyi, wife of comedian Mr Jollof, over defamatory statements made against her online.
The court further directed VeryDarkMan to publish a public apology in two national newspapers and across all his social media platforms within 14 days.
The controversy is said to have started in September 2024 after an online fight between VeryDarkMan and Mr Jollof.
In the exchange, VeryDarkMan allegedly accused Mr Jollof’s wife, Mrs Esinjemiyotan Uruneyonjuyei Atsepoyi, of sleeping with politicians and internet fraudsters popularly known as Yahoo boys, in the bid to get a political appointment for her husband in Delta State.
When the reaction occurred, Mr Jollof had replied to the social media critic by labelling him a product of a broken home who was not properly brought up.
Mrs Atsepoyi has filed a defamation suit against VeryDarkMan for ₦500 million following the allegations.
On May 13, 2026, the court (Justice R. Harriman) found that the statements made by the defendant were defamatory and actionable.
The certified court document obtained by DAILY POST showed that the judge ruled that VeryDarkMan did not submit evidence in support of the allegations levelled against the claimant.
Justice Harriman said: “I therefore have no hesitation in holding that the words complained of are defamatory in their natural and ordinary meaning and are actionable per se.”
The judge further held that the claimant was entitled to both general and aggravated damages, on the basis of the extent of the publication and the impact it had on her reputation.
I find the Claimant is entitled to general damages and aggravated damages and an injunction. See DIAMOND BANK v. OKPALA (2016) LPELR-41573(CA) and OBOK & ORS v. AGBOR & ORS (2016) LPELR-41219(CA). “The retraction and apology are appropriate to restore the Claimant’s reputation given the wide dissemination of the defamatory material,” the judge ruled.
Court Orders Apology, Injunction on Additional Publication
Justice Harriman later ruled in favour of the claimant and awarded ₦20 million as general damages and ₦10 million as aggravated damages.
“Judgment is hereby entered in favour of the Claimant against the defendant in the amount of: The court held that “it is declared that the words published by the Defendant concerning the Claimant are defamatory.”
“General damages in the sum of ₦20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira); Aggravated damages in the sum of ₦10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira).”
The court also ordered the defendant to publicly apologize and withdraw the defamatory publications made on September 15, 16 and in the early hours of September 19, 2024.
“The Defendant is hereby ordered to publish an apology to the Claimant in two national dailies and all his social media handles containing a retraction of the defamatory words contained in the Defendant’s online publication… within 14 days of this judgment,” the judge added.
The court also restrained VeryDarkMan, his agents and associates from making any further defamatory statements against the claimant.
