Popular Nigerian social media activist and influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, better known by his online alias VeryDarkMan, has reportedly been arrested by the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja following his public complaints about unauthorized deductions from his mother’s GTBank account.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many questioning the basis for the arrest and raising concerns about citizens' rights to openly speak against financial institutions. According to his lawyer, Barrister Deji Adeyanju, the arrest took place at the Area 3 division of the Nigeria Police Force, shortly after VeryDarkMan and his family visited a branch of GTBank to dispute the deductions.
In a public statement, Adeyanju revealed that the influencer was arrested alongside his associate, known as C Park, while his mother was left behind at the bank. The lawyer emphasized that the arrest had no legal justification, describing it as an unlawful act aimed at silencing a citizen who was merely demanding accountability from a financial institution.
Prior to his arrest, VeryDarkMan had shared multiple social media posts highlighting recurring suspicious deductions from his mother’s GTBank account, which were labeled as loan repayments despite the family’s claim that no loan had ever been taken. In his post, he included screenshots and requested the bank to provide a full account statement to trace the origin of the transactions.
“My mom and I went to GTBank to understand why they keep deducting money from her account in the name of loan repayments she never took,” he wrote. “We’ve already seen over seven deductions this year alone. We’ve asked for her bank statements to trace where and when it all started. The staff were cooperating, and we hoped to find answers.”
His lawyer added: “My client was arrested simply for speaking out about repeated debits from his mother’s account for loans she never took. This is a clear abuse of power and an attempt to intimidate a young man who is only seeking justice.”
Social media users have since taken to various platforms to express their discontent with the development, with hashtags like #FreeVeryDarkMan trending in support of his release and calls for GTBank to publicly address the allegations.
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A team of policemen arrested VDM at GTB. He was arrested with his friend C Park but they left his mom alone. https://t.co/xk90wvziTV
— Comrade Deji Adeyanju (@adeyanjudeji) May 2, 2025