Martins Vincent Otse (born 8 April 1994), popularly known as VeryDarkMan, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, and

influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

who is a prominent figure in Nigerian civil and

political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. A controversial figure accused of speaking ill of injustice and bad governance. He grew up in

Kaduna, Nigeria Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern states ...

Early years

Martins Vincent Otse was born on 8 April, 1994 in

. Although born in Kaduna, he is originally from

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

. Otse spent his formative years in Kaduna.

Career and public recognition

VeryDarkMan's social media activism career commenced in 2022. Initially, he garnered attention through his interactions with Nigerian celebrities, which led to an increase in his online following. Subsequently, he began posting a series of videos that sparked controversy. By early 2023, his content had gone viral, further amplifying the controversy surrounding his online presence. In June 2023, Nigerian singer

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian American, Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido was born in Atlanta, U.S, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He made his mus ...

followed him on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and publicly endorsed him. This recognition was followed by a nomination for the Silverbird's Most Influential Social Media Influencer of the Year award in January 2024.

Controversy

Otse was arrested in March 2024 on allegations of

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

and

cyberstalking Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, group, or organization. It may include false accusations, defamation, slander and libel. It may also include monitoring, identity theft, thr ...

, including

false accusations ''False Accusations'' is the third studio album by the Robert Cray Band, released 1985. In the same year, Cray won the Blues Music Award, W.C. Handy Award for best male artist of 1985. Critical reception ''The Boston Globe'' listed the album am ...

against Nigerian actresses and officials. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in police custody until his hearing on May 29, 2024. After two weeks in detention, he was released. In June 2024, he was arrested again at his Abuja residence on defamation charges related to a

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

expose. Otse was questioned by police on June 30, 2024, regarding defamation allegations and released shortly after. No arrest was made, contrary to initial reports. On September 26, 2024, Falana & Falana Chambers issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Otse via a letter, demanding an immediate retraction and apology for allegedly defamatory statements against

Femi Falana Femi Falana, (born 20 May 1958) is a Nigerian lawyer and human right activist. He is the father of a Nigerian rapper Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz. Falana is a welll-known activist for human rights, always trying to show empathy to ...

, made in his September 25, 2024

post. On May 2, 2025, he was arrested on allegation of cyberstalking shortly after he visited Guarantee Trust Bank branch in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, where he complained about alleged unauthorized deduction of funds from his mother's account. This arrest was carried out by men on mask who identity were later reveled as EFCC. After five days in detention, he was released on administrative bail on 7 May, 2025. Otse was accused of inciting Onista bridge head drug traders to defy regulatory order in a statement released by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control's Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, on May 26th, 2025. This was shortly after Otse visited the Ogbo Ogwu market and called out the DG of

NAFDAC The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is a Nigerian federal agency under the Federal Ministry of Health that is responsible for regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertis ...

to stop the extortion as it was allegedly said by the traders the they have to pay a certain amount of money before they can embark om their business.

References

Living people 1994 births Nigerian bloggers Nigerian activists Nigerian people

External links

{{Twitter, id=thatverydarkman