Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has apologised to soldiers, police officers, customs and immigration personnel over his controversial remarks at the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference.
Otse, in a video shared on Friday, said he had reflected on his speech and realised that his comments were unfair to security personnel who were risking their lives to protect Nigerians.
The activist had, while speaking at the NBA conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, referred to military, police, immigration and customs personnel as “unknown gunmen” during a discussion on insecurity.
However, in his latest video, Otse said he did not intend to accuse all security personnel of criminal activities.
“I don’t think I was fair to a lot of people, particularly the speech where I said that the military are the unknown gunmen, the police are the unknown gunmen, you know, the immigration, the customs.
“I know exactly what I was trying to say because, I mean, I have evidence to back up my claim, but I wasn’t fair to a lot of people in that speech,” he said.
He particularly apologised to soldiers fighting Boko Haram and other threats in the bush, saying his remarks could discourage personnel who had sacrificed their lives for the country.
“That speech was not fair, especially to the soldiers that are in the bushes fighting Boko Haram to protect our lands, to protect our lives, and to protect our families.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say they are also the unknown gunmen, to be very honest, because these people have laid down their lives,” he said.
Otse explained that his intention was to draw attention to alleged corruption, information leaks and sabotage by some personnel within the security agencies.
“My speech was not to discourage you.
“My speech was entirely to talk about the bad eggs in our security operative, our security forces, is to put attention on the bad eggs, so that the leaders in these security settings will look inward and to see that sometimes information are being leaked and their own people are sabotaging them,” he said.
He admitted, however, that his choice of words made it appear as though he was generalising about the security agencies.
“But by passing that speech, like I said, it seems like I was generalising and it’s not fair to the fallen soldiers,” he said.
The activist subsequently apologised to the Chief of Defence Staff and the leadership of the various security agencies.
“So I will go further to say to the Chief of Defence Staff, Sir, I really want to apologise for that speech, and I don’t want to discourage your boys.
“Please extend my apologies to your boys, to the ones that are in the bush protecting our lands,” he said.
He also apologised to the police, customs and immigration authorities, as well as families of fallen security personnel.
“To the families of these heroes that might have also felt offended by this speech, knowing fully well that their brother, their sister, their son, their husband fought and died for this country, I am really, really sorry,” he said.
Otse maintained that despite his allegations against some security personnel, there were still many officers committed to protecting the country.
“Yes, a lot of bad eggs there, like I said, a lot of bad eggs, a lot of them are there.
“A lot of corrupt generals, a lot of high-ranking police officers are corrupt, a lot of junior officers are corrupt, a lot of them are there. But there’s still a lot of more good people, a lot of more good people, and I know a lot of them,” he said.
He said he was concerned that his comments could discourage a soldier who was fighting in the bush and came across the video.
“Imagine a soldier fighting in the bush and he watches VDM’s video, and he’s like, ‘Ah, VDM is one of us now, unknown gunman.’ That would discourage him, to be honest,” he said.
Otse also pointed to his interactions with some police officers as evidence of his engagement with the security sector.
“Me and police, we work steady. I give, sometimes I share police information, tell them, ‘Oh, this is what is happening here, please, can you intercept,” he said.
He urged security personnel genuinely protecting Nigerians not to be discouraged by his remarks.
“And please don’t be discouraged, please, please, don’t be discouraged.
“We’re there behind you now, and we’ll always support you. You know, and we are part of this thing, security is for all of us,” he said.
However, Otse maintained his criticism of personnel he accused of sabotaging security operations, supplying arms and leaking information to terrorists.
“But then again, to the bad eggs, your days are numbered.
“To all of you in the military that are sabotaging and causing deaths to your officers, your days are numbered,” he said.
His apology comes amid criticism over his appearance and comments at the NBA conference.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had criticised the defence of Otse’s participation at the event and called for experienced speakers to handle specialised discussions at such conferences.
Otse subsequently defended his invitation and explained why he was invited to speak before mocking the backlash by appearing in a lawyer’s wig and gown in a video.
His latest apology also follows a separate controversy over his claim that some police officers at checkpoints allegedly pass information about wealthy travellers to kidnappers.
The police challenged him to provide evidence for the allegation, while Otse dared the authorities to charge him to court, saying he would present his evidence.
In Friday’s video, however, Otse stressed that his criticism of alleged misconduct should not be interpreted as hostility towards the security agencies as a whole.
“I actually know more than the people I was trying to communicate with, so it was not really communicated properly,” he said.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to support security personnel genuinely fighting to protect the country.
“And to the patriots, to the heroes, to our fallen heroes that have died to protect this country… I am really, really sorry.
“Keep on fighting for our beloved country, God bless all of you. We Nigerians are with you,” he said.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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