VeryDarkMan Takes Another Action Days After Blasting Nigerian Soldiers, Police at NBA Conference
- VeryDarkMan released a video apologising to Nigerian security personnel after his NBA conference speech caused widespread controversy
- The activist had described the military, police, customs, and immigration officers as 'unknown gunmen' during the Port Harcourt event
- Otse said his remarks were aimed at bad eggs within security agencies, not personnel risking their lives to protect Nigerians
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Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, known widely as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has publicly apologised to members of the Nigerian armed forces, police, customs, and immigration services for remarks he made at the Nigerian Bar Association's 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
In a video released on Friday, September 4, Otse said he had reflected on his conference speech and concluded that it was unfair to security personnel who genuinely put their lives on the line to protect ordinary Nigerians.
Source: Twitter
During the NBA conference, the activist had described the military, police, immigration, and customs as "unknown gunmen" while discussing insecurity in Nigeria, a characterisation that drew swift backlash from multiple quarters.
VDM addresses soldiers fighting Boko Haram
Otse said he was particularly troubled by the thought of a soldier deployed against Boko Haram in the bush watching his video and feeling condemned.
"Imagine a soldier fighting in the bush and he watches VDM's video, and he's like, 'Ah, VDM is one of us now, unknown gunman.' That would discourage him, to be honest," he said.
He directed a specific apology to the Chief of Defence Staff, asking that it be passed on to troops in the field:
"Sir, I really want to apologise for that speech, and I don't want to discourage your boys. Please extend my apologies to your boys, to the ones that are in the bush protecting our lands."
He also expressed remorse to the families of fallen security personnel.
"To the families of these heroes that might have also felt offended by this speech, knowing fully well that their brother, their sister, their son, their husband fought and died for this country, I am really, really sorry," he said.
Bad eggs still in his crosshairs
Despite the apology, Otse made clear he was not withdrawing his broader criticism of corruption within the security services. He said his original intent was to highlight personnel who allegedly leak intelligence to criminals and supply arms to terrorists, not to tar every officer with the same brush.
"My speech was entirely to talk about the bad eggs in our security operative, our security forces, is to put attention on the bad eggs, so that the leaders in these security settings will look inward," he said.
He closed with a direct warning:
"To all of you in the military that are sabotaging and causing deaths to your officers, your days are numbered."
The apology follows a series of controversies stemming from the NBA conference appearance.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana had dismissed the decision to include Otse as a speaker, calling for more experienced voices on specialised topics. Otse responded by defending his invitation and later mocked the criticism by appearing in a lawyer's wig and gown in a separate video.
Verydarkman responds to police challenge
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as Verydarkman (VDM), responded to a public challenge from the Nigeria Police Force with what he described as his first piece of evidence backing up his explosive claims about officers at highway checkpoints.
The activist had earlier raised alarm at a Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference held in Port Harcourt, where he alleged that highway police officers act as "unknown gunmen" by leaking the movement details of wealthy travellers to criminal networks.
Source: Legit.ng
