Group asks police to trace persons behind threats to Falana’s daughter

The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NIHRCO), a coalition of over 100 civil society and community-based groups, says the police should arrest persons sending threats to the daughter of Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

On October 7, Falana said some persons have threatened to burn his office and kill his daughter over a case.

Recently, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, shared a purported audio conversation wherein Bobrisky, the crossdresser, claimed that Falana and his son Folarin ‘Falz’ contacted her while she was serving a six-month sentence for naira abuse.

Falana and Falz had threatened to institute legal action against VeryDarkMan if he failed to retract his comments and apologise.

Taiwo Adeleye, spokesperson of NIHRCO, described Falana as an icon, and the threats as a “historical challenge to Nigeria”.

“The Nigerian Human Rights Community stands with Mr Falana at this moment. Threat to death was sent to his daughter by common criminals,” the statement reads.

“The sender(s) provided clues by using a cellphone to send the message. Phone numbers cannot be registered in Nigeria without NIN. It means the identities of the criminals should not be difficult to unveil.”

The group said President Bola Tinubu should ensure that the suspects are brought to justice.

“This is the time to find out who is responsible for the threat message. This is a big challenge for President Tinubu,” the group said.

“It is a challenge he must resolve. Nigerians want to know the vagabonds responsible for sending the threat message.

“By now, Nigerians expected the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun and the Department of State Security Services (SSS) to have arrested Mr Martins Otse since the threat was meant to deter Mr Falana from going to court against him.”

The group urged Nigerians to be wary of “common criminals and rogues portraying themselves as defenders of the helpless”.

“The Nigerian Human Rights Community stands with Mr Falana at this moment,” they added.

“While he was in the trenches fighting the military, at the risk of his life, some of those in power today were collaborators who made profit from supporting military dictatorship.”