Social media influencer and online police, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has defended his invitation to the ongoing 2026 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, saying he was invited to share his experiences and concerns about insecurity across the country.
Speaking as a panellist at the conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday, Otse said he was not at the event to teach legal professionals about the law but to draw attention to the realities of insecurity and the threats facing Nigerians, including members of the judiciary.
He said the controversy surrounding his invitation was unnecessary, stressing that his firsthand experience covering insecurity-related incidents qualified him to contribute to the discussion.
“There has been a lot of debate about why I was invited to this NBA conference. I’m not here to teach you people law; I’m here to share experience,” he said.
VeryDarkMan also raised concerns over attacks on members of the judiciary, citing the reported abduction of a judge travelling from Sokoto State, who was allegedly kidnapped in Kebbi State on July 26 and held captive for about a week before being released.
“This is not a topic of ‘may I, my lord’ because your lords are being kidnapped,” he said.
The influencer also criticised media organisations over what he described as inadequate coverage of killings and other violent attacks across the country.
“When the killings happened, our media are now lazy, and they do not really cover these killings and the results of these unknown gunmen,” he said.
Reflecting on his experience covering violent incidents, Otse referred to the June 13, 2025, attack on Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, which reportedly left more than 200 people dead and properties worth millions of naira destroyed.
“I was the first respondent at Yelwata. I was also the first respondent when some women were killed some time ago. I’ve seen blood and seen people burnt alive,” he said.
He further alleged that the Yelwata attack was carried out by Fulani assailants as retaliation for the killing of a Fulani boy.
His comments came months after a prosecution witness testified at the Federal High Court in Abuja that some disgruntled Fulani chiefs allegedly sponsored more than 200 armed men to carry out the Yelwata attack.
The witness, Moses Paul, a team leader with the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force, made the claim in February 2026 while testifying in the trial of nine suspects charged in connection with the attack.
