Popular Nigerian rapper and activist, Folarin Falana, known as Falz, has confirmed his communication with controversial social media personality Idris Okuneye, commonly referred to as Bobrisky, regarding the legal challenges Bobrisky faced earlier this year.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Falz disclosed that Bobrisky had requested ₦3 million to secure a VIP section at the Correctional Centre.
This clarification follows a letter issued by Falz’s legal team, Falana & Falana Chambers, demanding a retraction from Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, over defamatory claims made against him.
The September 26, 2024, letter highlighted allegations suggesting that Falz conspired with Bobrisky to “pervert the course of justice” by offering financial assistance for a favourable legal outcome.
Falz’s lawyer, Taiwo E. Olawanle, detailed the events in the letter, stating that while Bobrisky did reach out for advice, Falz categorically rejected any notion of providing financial help, insisting that no payments were necessary for legal support.
The letter read, “Your publication of September 25, 2024, on your Instagram page captioned “In everything and everyone that is mentioned here, I will be disappointed if truly FALZ and his father are involved in this whole Bobrisky issue…” has been drawn to our notice wherein you made some defamatory statements against our client.
“To set the records straight, our client never at any point initiated a conversation with Mr Idris Okuneye. Our client has documentary evidence that Mr. Idris was in fact the one who initiated a call.
“Specifically, on the 4th of May 2024, Mr Idris Okuneye (AKA Bobrisky) contacted our client requesting a phone conversation with him. Our client gratuitously obliged, having knowledge of the Naira abuse charges leveled against him, and genuinely believing he might require legal advice.
“Mr Idris Okuneye (Aka Bobrisky) called shortly after but instead of soliciting legal advice, stated that he was in distress and needed financial assistance of about ₦3,000,000 (Three million Naira) which he claimed he needed to pay some officials to be permitted to stay in the VIP section of the Correctional Centre.”
The letter added, “Our client, in the same conversation, advised him that there was no need to pay the officials of the Correctional Centre any money. However, Mr Idris Okuneye (Aka Bobrisky) stated that his lawyers had messed up his case by asking him to plead guilty to the charges filed against him. Mr Idris Okuneye (Aka Bobrisky) insisted on his request for the money which our client continuously disapproved.
“Without contacting our client, you went ahead to publish a careless statement containing multiple allegations including an insinuation that our client is involved in a homosexual affair and intended to get a presidential pardon for Mr Idris Okuneye.”
Falana & Falana Chambers demanded an immediate retraction of the defamatory statements and a public apology to be issued across all platforms where the accusations were disseminated.
The letter warned that failure to comply within 24 hours would result in legal action, including a claim for monetary damages for the harm caused to Falz’s reputation.