Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has questioned the Nigerian Bar Association’s decision to invite social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to its 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, saying the association’s conferences should focus on intellectual engagement.
Falana made his position known during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he discussed the controversy over VDM’s invitation and his disputed claim that the Nigeria Police Force aids kidnapping in the country.
The senior lawyer said the issue was not simply about who should appear before lawyers, but about the purpose of a professional conference and the type of knowledge participants should gain from such gatherings.
He said NBA conferences had traditionally featured people who had established themselves in their fields and could offer lawyers useful knowledge from their professional experience.
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“In those days, the NBA brought individuals who had paid their dues… who were coming to engage lawyers intellectually. We wanted to learn from them,” Falana said.
His position places the controversy over VDM’s invitation within a larger question about the content expected from an annual gathering of legal professionals.
Falana said such conferences should not become entertainment platforms, especially when sessions deal with serious subjects such as national security and media freedom.
Expertise should guide conference speakers
The senior lawyer said the choice of speakers should be connected to the subject being discussed. He maintained that a person invited to discuss national security should have practical knowledge of Nigeria’s security system.
“If you are bringing an expert to discuss the security of the country, either from the public or private sector, such an individual must have contributed to the security architecture of the country,” he said.
Falana’s position came against the backdrop of disagreement among lawyers over whether VDM should have been invited to the NBA conference.
VDM’s appearance had attracted discussion because of his controversial allegation concerning the police and kidnapping in Nigeria. Falana referred to the issue during the television programme as he explained why he believed professional conferences should select participants with relevant knowledge of the subjects being examined.
Falana emphasised expertise as particularly important when lawyers are being asked to examine matters that affect national security. He said a speaker should be able to contribute from direct experience or demonstrated involvement in the area under discussion.
He also applied the same standard to sessions dealing with media and press freedom.
Falana said discussions on those subjects should feature practitioners, academics or other professionals with established experience in journalism and media practice.
The distinction he made was between inviting someone because of public popularity and inviting someone because of knowledge and experience relevant to the subject.
His criticism therefore focuses on the suitability of conference speakers and the intellectual value that lawyers should gain from professional gatherings.
The controversy has also put the NBA’s decision to invite VDM in the context of the association’s tradition of bringing people with professional experience before its members.
Falana recalled that earlier NBA conferences had featured individuals who had “paid their dues” and were able to engage lawyers on important national issues.
Security and media require informed discussion
Falana said the need for relevant expertise becomes more important when a conference session deals with sensitive national issues.
He said a discussion on Nigeria’s security situation should involve a person from either the public or private sector who had contributed to the country’s security architecture.
His position also extended to media and press freedom, where he said practitioners, academics or professionals with established experience should take part in discussions.
“But when you bring people who have nothing to do with the security of the country, there are problems,” Falana said.
The comment provides the basis of his objection to the choice of VDM as a conference participant. His criticism was not presented as a rejection of discussion about controversial public issues. Instead, he focused on whether the person invited to lead or contribute to such a discussion had the professional background required to speak with authority on the subject.
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