The legal team of social media personality Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has raised serious concerns about his continued detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), despite being granted administrative bail. VDM was arrested on May 1, 2025, and remains in custody with no formal charge communicated to him, according to his lawyers.
Speaking on Tuesday, one of VDM’s legal representatives, Zainab Otega, stated that her client was interrogated for several hours, accompanied by another legal team member, Marvin Omorogbe. However, she noted that the questions posed to VDM appeared unrelated to any specific criminal offense.
“The EFCC’s refusal to inform our client of the specific allegations against him constitutes a fundamental breach of his constitutional rights,” Otega said.
According to her, the interrogation touched on a range of topics including how VDM handled naira notes at a nightclub, the earnings from his social media accounts, his tax information, and public comments he made about a gospel singer. Otega said such questioning gives the impression that the EFCC is “fishing for evidence” rather than building a case based on established wrongdoing.
While the EFCC confirmed that Otse had been granted administrative bail, his legal team has chosen not to reveal the conditions attached. As of the time of writing, Otse is still being held.
The EFCC has defended its actions, saying that the arrest was necessary after Otse reportedly ignored multiple invitations for questioning. In a statement by Dele Oyewale, the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, the EFCC claimed a valid remand order was obtained to support his detention. “Otse has been offered administrative bail, subject to the fulfilment of specific conditions,” the statement read.
Oyewale also noted that Otse’s past criticisms of the EFCC did not influence the decision to arrest him. “His arrest was not motivated by these attacks. The relevant law enforcement agency will be allowed to look into them,” he added.
Still, Otse’s legal team is demanding either his immediate release or a proper court charge. They argue that his continued detention beyond 24 hours violates the law.
“We are, therefore, calling on the commission to either release Mr. Otse immediately or charge him to court if there is indeed a case to answer,” Otega said.
She also urged the public to remain calm and law-abiding while expressing support. “We are grateful to Nigerians for the interest they have shown in this case,” she added.
