Gospel singer Mercy Chinwo has taken legal action against blogger Martins Vincent Otse, aka VeryDarkMan (VDM), over alleged defamatory statements made on social media.
TheNewsGuru reports that Chinwo’s lawsuit, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, seeks N1.1 billion in damages from VDM.
The lawsuit stems from VDM’s accusations that Chinwo was involved in a contractual dispute and diverted $345,000 linked to her former record label boss, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu (Eezee Tee). Chinwo’s legal representative, Pelumi Olajengbesi, argues that VDM’s posts were made without provocation and intended to damage Chinwo’s reputation.
Chinwo has provided documentary evidence, including emails and payment receipts, to prove that VDM’s allegations are false. The lawsuit demands that VDM delete, retract, and issue a public apology for the allegedly false and defamatory statements made against Chinwo and her brand.
This development comes after a Federal High Court in Lagos upheld an arrest warrant against Eezee Tee over alleged fraudulent conversion, with his arraignment scheduled for March 6, 2025.
A statement in the lawsuit filed says:
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court directing the Defendant to cause a retraction of the said defamatory statement in favour of the Claimant on all his social media platforms and to publish an unreserved apology to the Claimant in two widely circulated national dailies and all his social media platforms.”
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court directing the Defendants to write an unreserved apology to the Claimant and publish same in four national dailies, causing same to run for at least 14 consecutive days.”
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant the Sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) only as General Damages for defamation.”
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant, the Sum of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) only as Punitive and Aggravated Damages for the grossly defamatory statement.”
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court directing the Defendant to pay the sum of N25,000,000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Naira) as the cost of this suit.”
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court directing the Defendant to pay 10% (Ten percent) on the judgment sum per annum until final liquidation of the judgment sum by the Defendants.”