The High Court of Justice sitting in Effurun, Delta State, has ruled against Nigerian social media activist and influencer VeryDarkMan in a defamation lawsuit filed by Esinjemiyotan “Mrs. Jollof” Atsepoyi, wife of comedian and media personality Mr Jollof.
In the judgment delivered on 8 May 2026 in Suit No. EHC/203/2024, Hon. Justice R. D. Harriman held that statements published by VeryDarkMan on social media against Mrs. Jollof were defamatory, unjustifiable, and damaging to her reputation.
The lawsuit arose from a series of videos published on VeryDarkMan’s verified Instagram account “verydarkblackman” between 15 and 19 September 2024. In the videos, he allegedly accused Mrs. Jollof of adultery, sleeping with politicians to secure appointments for her husband, associating with “Yahoo boys,” and suggested that one of her children was not biologically fathered by her husband.
According to court documents tendered during the trial, the claimant argued that the allegations caused embarrassment, ridicule, emotional distress, and harm to her family and event-planning business. Witnesses told the court that the publications spread rapidly online due to the defendant’s large social media following, which exceeded 1.7 million followers.
During proceedings, VeryDarkMan denied liability and maintained that the online exchange originated from a dispute between himself and Mr. Jollof. He described the videos as part of social media “banter” and argued that the statements were not directed at Mrs. Jollof. His legal team, led by human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, also challenged the admissibility of some electronic evidence presented before the court.
However, Justice Harriman ruled that sufficient evidence had been presented linking the publications directly to the claimant. The court held that the defendant failed to justify the allegations or establish any valid legal defense, including fair comment, provocation, or justification.
In the judgment, the court emphasized that accusations involving adultery, promiscuity, corruption, and paternity fraud were serious allegations capable of lowering a person’s reputation in the eyes of society. The judge further noted that the publications were widely disseminated across social media and described the defendant’s conduct as “reckless and unapologetic.”
The court consequently awarded:
- ₦20 million as general damages;
- ₦10 million as aggravated damages; and
- ₦500,000 as cost of action.
The total award amounted to ₦30.5 million.
The court also ordered VeryDarkMan to publish a public apology and retraction in two national newspapers and across all his social media platforms within 14 days of the judgment. In addition, the court restrained him from making further defamatory publications against Mrs. Jollof.
The judgment has generated significant reactions across Nigerian social media, with many observers describing the case as one of the most notable legal defeats involving a Nigerian online influencer in recent years.
