Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the EFCC, has dismissed reports suggesting it arrested internet activist Martins Vincent Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan, due to several formal complaints lodged against him.
According to an earlier report by BBC, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale had said on Monday that Otse was detained based on grievances submitted by different individuals.
He was quoted saying that the agency was acting on a number of allegations and needed the influencer to respond.
When probed about whether GTBank was involved, Oyewale reportedly responded that the complaints were diverse and not limited to any particular entity.
He stressed that the responsibility to maintain the petitions lies with the individuals who submitted them.
Oyewale further stated that the influencer would be granted freedom after satisfying bail conditions and that the case would eventually be pursued through the legal system.
Although EFCC sources confirmed that Otse was arrested in Abuja, the commission later took to social media to debunk the news, calling it misinformation.
Reacting to the development, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju criticized the EFCC for what he described as the unlawful detention of his client.
He claimed that VDM was taken into custody at a GTBank branch after a conversation with law enforcement officers.
Adeyanju tweeted, “This kind of arrest is unjustifiable. Speaking truth to power isn’t a crime. VDM should not be punished for holding people accountable.”
