By Dansu Peter Popular social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has been arrested by the Economic...
By Dansu Peter
Popular social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged violations of the Cybercrimes Act.
According to Vanguard, a source within the anti-graft agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the arrest on Sunday. According to the source, VDM was picked up following a series of complaints accusing him of using his social media platforms to harass, insult, and intimidate various individuals online.
“We picked him up based on several complaints that he used his social media platforms to harass, insult, and intimidate individuals — actions that may contravene the Cybercrimes Act of 2015,” the official stated.
While the EFCC declined to name the petitioners or give detailed specifics of the complaints, it is not the first time the outspoken influencer has clashed with authorities.
In May 2024, VDM was arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on five counts of cyberstalking. The charges were linked to alleged online attacks on the Nigeria Police Force and Nollywood actresses Iyabo Ojo and Tonto Dikeh. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded pending a bail hearing.
Later in November, he was again in court—this time before a Chief Magistrate in Abuja—on charges of impersonation. Prosecutors accused him of dressing up and presenting himself as a police officer. He denied the allegations and was granted bail in the sum of ₦2 million.
The controversies did not end there. In September 2024, VDM found himself in legal trouble after crossdresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, slammed him with a ₦1 billion defamation suit. The suit stemmed from an alleged voice recording VDM circulated, in which he claimed Bobrisky bribed EFCC officials to bury money laundering charges. Bobrisky strongly denied the accusation, claiming the recording was AI-generated.
By April 2025, his legal woes had deepened with a court order for his arrest over defamatory remarks against gospel singer Mercy Chinwo. The court directed him to delete the offending content and publicly apologise.
VDM’s latest arrest reportedly followed a viral video he made at a GTBank branch in Abuja, where he accused the bank of unauthorised deductions from his mother’s account.
Speaking from abroad, VDM’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, confirmed to Vanguard on Sunday that he would return to Abuja by Monday to push for his client’s release.
“I’m currently not in Nigeria, but I’ll be back in Abuja tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. By 4 p.m., we’ll be at the EFCC to secure his bail,” Adeyanju said, adding that the EFCC had not yet disclosed the precise nature of the allegations against VDM.
The arrest has since sparked backlash from human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who described it as a politically motivated move to silence the influencer.
“It has become evident that the EFCC unlawfully arrested and detained Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VDM, in a bid to silence him after he accused the agency and its leadership of corruption and misconduct,” Sowore said.
“The Commission does not possess the legal mandate to prosecute individuals for criminal defamation, libel, or cybercrime; these are issues typically handled through civil litigation. Therefore, the EFCC must release VDM without delay.”
The report by Vanguard said the EFCC may file formal charges against VeryDarkMan as early as Monday. Repeated attempts to reach the Commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, for comments were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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