Since his arrest last Friday in Abuja, a social media critic, VeryDarkMan has been in the news. The EFCC provides explanation on why he has remained in its custody
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the arrest of controversial social media personality Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over allegations of financial crimes.
In a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, the anti-graft agency said 31-year-old was taken into custody after he repeatedly ignored several invitations concerning “grave allegations of financial malfeasance” contained in multiple petitions filed against him.
“Otse refused to show up in spite of several invitations sent to him through his known addresses and medium of communication,” the statement read.
“The petitions pertain to grave allegations of financial malfeasance which cannot be ignored by the Commission.”
The agency also addressed the public interest surrounding VeryDarkMan’s case, which intensified after the activist openly criticised the EFCC in recent online posts. It, however, denied arresting him in retaliation for those comments.
“The Commission is aware of several unguarded attacks of the suspect against its operations… [but] his arrest was not informed by such attacks,” the statement said, adding that another law enforcement agency may review those remarks independently.
According to the EFCC, VDM is currently in custody under a valid remand order and has been granted administrative bail, pending the fulfilment of all conditions.
“The EFCC should be allowed to do its job without fear or favour. As soon as investigations are concluded, charges will be filed,” the agency said, urging the public to avoid speculating about its motives.
VeryDarkMan was reportedly arrested last Friday shortly after visiting a GTBank branch in the Area 3 district of Garki, Abuja.