Gospel singer Mercy Chinwo has taken legal action against social media critic Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).

She is filing a lawsuit demanding N1.1 billion in damages over alleged defamatory statements against her on social media.

The lawsuit, dated 3 March 2025, was filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja and made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday by Mercy’s legal team, Law Corridor.

The Writ of Summons document accuses VDM of making “libellous, malicious, spiteful, malevolent, and grossly defamatory statements that impugn the image and character” of the singer.

This newspaper reported that allegations first stemmed from a public dispute between Mercy and her former record label boss, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu, also known as EeZee Tee.

In a series of Instagram posts during the heated case in February, VDM accused Mercy of secretly collecting payment from performances without remitting the funds to her former label, EeZee Conceptz. The online critic further alleged that she violated contractual agreements before parting ways with the label.

According to Mercy’s lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi of Law Corridor, who filed the writ, the social media critic had no direct involvement in the dispute but still presented the singer in a damaging and biased manner.

“The claimant avers that she has neither had any form of relationship with the defendant nor was the defendant involved in the issue between the claimant and EeZee Tee in any material particular,” Mr Olajengbesi stated in the document.

“The claimant avers that the statements made by the defendant in the videos he published on his Instagram page gave the false impression that he was personally involved in the matter. However, these statements were not only false but also damning and injurious to the claimant’s public image and reputation.”

Further, in the lawsuit against a social media commentator, the plaintiff (Mercy) is seeking substantial relief for alleged defamation, including monetary compensation and public retractions.

According to the legal documents, Mercy is demanding “an order directing the defendant to remove the defamatory posts from all his social media platforms and compelling the defendant to retract the defamatory statements on all his social media platforms and in four national newspapers.

Furthermore, the claimant demands an order instructing the defendant to “issue an unreserved apology, which must be published in four national newspapers for 14 consecutive days.”

Regarding financial compensation, the claimant seeks “N1 billion as general damages for defamation and N100 million as punitive and aggravated damages for the defamatory statements.”

Additionally, the claimant requests “N25 million to cover the cost of the suit.” The lawsuit also demands that the defendant “pay 10 per cent interest per annum on the judgment sum until full payment is made.”

The lawsuit explicitly cites statements made by VDM on multiple occasions—2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 12th, and 17th February 2025—which Mercy’s legal team claims were false and malicious.

Among these, VDM alleged that the singer “was going behind the record label to collect shows and not remitting money”, an accusation that, according to the suit, is “baseless and aimed at tarnishing the reputation of a respected gospel artiste.”

Furthermore, the suit states that VDM falsely implicated Mercy in the detention of music executive EeZee Tee by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The legal filing described this as “a deliberate and reckless attempt to link the plaintiff to an incident she had no involvement in, thereby subjecting her to public ridicule, emotional distress, and reputational damage.”

Mercy’s legal representatives argue that these claims have caused “immeasurable harm to her career, personal life, and standing within the gospel music community,” warranting the substantial compensation sought.

The legal team noted that the public apology and retractions in national newspapers are necessary to “mitigate the damage and prevent further harm caused by the wide circulation of these false allegations.”

The legal battle between Mercy and EeZee Tee began following her exit from EeZee Conceptz, where she had been signed under a 50/50 gross revenue-sharing agreement. Mercy accused EeZee of withholding royalties amounting to $345,000 and creating a toxic work environment.

The record label boss denied the allegations, claiming Mercy failed to remit funds from her performances. He called for an independent audit of the financial transactions.

On 17 February, a Federal High Court in Lagos upheld the arrest warrant against Mr Onyedikachukwu over alleged fraudulent conversion. The case has been adjourned until 6 March for his arraignment.

The EFCC initially froze EeZee Tee’s domiciliary account and detained him for nine days. However, the commission later withdrew the arrest warrant, acknowledging that the matter was a contractual dispute rather than a criminal case. Both parties have reportedly begun negotiations for an out-of-court settlement, with their legal representatives engaging in discussions to resolve the dispute amicably.