Nollywood actress Regina Askia has shared her perspective on the ongoing defamation case involving legal expert Femi Falana and social critic Martin Otse, popularly known as Very Dark Man (VDM). Speaking on the issue, Askia believes that Falana has the option to pursue legal action against VDM or resolve the matter in his own way. However, she raised concerns that the root issues which triggered the defamatory statements seem to have been overlooked in the process.
On October 14, an Ikeja High Court ruled that VDM must remove defamatory posts about the Falana family from his platforms. The court also instructed that the defamation suit be formally delivered through VDM’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju. The legal proceedings have attracted significant public attention, especially after a misleading report circulated on social media, which falsely claimed that the court had ordered VDM to pay a hefty N500 million fine to the Falanas.
Regina Askia took to her Instagram to address the misinformation, questioning the truth behind the alleged fine and highlighting that the court’s actual ruling did not include such a financial penalty. “Is it true that VDM was ordered to pay N500 million?” Askia asked in her post. “And why is no action being taken against the individual behind the claims in the audio tape released by VDM?” she added, referring to the controversial audio that had been at the center of the defamation.
In her post, Askia pointed out that while VDM was receiving the brunt of the blame, the original content of the audiotape, which sparked the legal action, was being largely ignored. She expressed concern that the focus was shifting away from the issues raised in the tape, which she believes are important to address. “The real problem here seems to be the information in the audio tape, but instead, everyone is focusing on blaming VDM,” she said, urging people to consider the broader context of the situation.
However, Askia’s comments were met with mixed reactions from her followers. Some criticized her for “spreading a negative narrative” about the case, accusing her of deflecting attention from the defamation. “Why are you defending VDM?” one user questioned. “This is a serious issue, and the focus should be on the harm caused to the Falanas.”
In response, Regina stood firm in her stance, stating that she wasn’t defending VDM but rather questioning why the focus was on the messenger rather than the message. “VDM is being unfairly blamed,” she said. “But we cannot ignore the fact that the real issues in the audiotape still haven’t been addressed.”
