The Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 6 has called blogger Martins Vincent Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to face charges of “criminal defamation” for damaging the reputation of gospel singer Mercy Chinwo. In a court summons dated March 5, 2025, Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna ordered VDM to show up in person on March 13, 2025, to respond to Chinwo’s accusations.
The issue started when VDM posted claims on social media, saying Chinwo was caught up in a contract fight and had a hand in diverting $345,000 tied to her former record label boss, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu (aka Eezee Tee). Chinwo fought back by giving the court proof like emails and payment records to show VDM’s statements were lies that hurt her public image.
Chinwo’s legal team, led by Pelumi Olajengbesi from the Abuja-based Law Corridor firm, filed the complaint, saying VDM’s actions broke Section 391 of the Penal Code and Section 24 (1)(B) of the Cybercrime Act 2015. Following this, Magistrate Iyanna told VDM to appear in court on March 13, 2025.
This isn’t the only legal battle here. Chinwo’s lawyers had already taken VDM to the High Court in Abuja, demanding ₦1.1 billion in damages. They also asked for a court order to make VDM take down his posts, retract his claims, and publicly apologize for the false and harmful statements about Chinwo and her brand.
Meanwhile, on February 17, 2025, a Federal High Court in Lagos upheld an arrest warrant against Eezee Tee for allegedly mishandling funds and set March 6, 2025, for his arraignment. In the defamation case, Olajengbesi argued that VDM’s posts made without any prompting on February 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, and 17, 2025, on Instagram were meant to drag Chinwo’s name through the mud. He said VDM falsely claimed Chinwo was sneaking behind her label to book shows, keeping the money instead of paying it to the label.
Chinwo backed up her case with documents proving VDM’s accusations were untrue. Her lawyer told the court that these videos and posts didn’t just lie—they seriously damaged Chinwo’s reputation, career, and emotional health.