Nigerians have criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the reason behind the arrest of popular social media critic Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan.
Chronicle NG reports that VeryDarkMan was arrested immediately after he, his mother, and friend Steven Avuara left a GTBank branch in Garki, Abuja.
According to Mr Avuara who briefly spoke to the lawyers, they had visited the bank to complain about unexplained deductions from Mrs Otse’s account.
Moments after leaving the bank, they were reportedly locked inside a security booth for several minutes before being ambushed by armed men in black uniforms.
The men allegedly beat and blindfolded VeryDarkMan and Avuara at gunpoint, labelling them “bandits” and threatening to shoot them in front of Otse’s mother, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
However, in reaction to various calls for the release of the social media activist, the EFCC announced that the activist was arrested for cyberstalking and would be released when he meets his bail conditions or be charged in court.
In a statement on Monday, the spokesperson of the Commission, Dele Oyewale, mentioned that the Commission had received various cyberstalking petitions against the activist.
However, in a series of reactions on social media, Nigerians mentioned that the EFCC acted out of its purview.
Nigerians mentioned that the Commission was set up to only tackle financial crimes, of which cyberstalking falls outside their jurisdiction.
Reacting to the arrest of the activist over cyberstalking allegations, popular social media influencer OurFavOnlineDoc, in a statement on X, wrote, ”VDM was reportedly arrested and detained by EFCC for ‘cyberstalking’? What kind of lawless country is this?
”This is not right. This is injustice. This is a blatant misuse of power.
”EFCC has no right to arrest anyone for cyberstalking. EFCC is for financial crimes, not cyberstalking.
”I don’t like VDM. I’m no fan of VDM. But you don’t need to like someone to speak up for them when they suffer injustice.”
Sharing similar sentiments, another X user simply identified as Uche wrote, ”So the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission now has a new job description of arresting, beating and detaining a citizen because of ‘cyberstalking’? This has to be the most disgraceful thing ever and a dent to our judicial system. Misplaced priorities.”
Below are more reactions of Nigerians to the charges against VeryDarkMan:
Osamese Okungbo, ”The EFCC arresting for cyberstalking? That seems outside their stated mandate. What are the specifics of this case? This needs clarification.”
Stanley Miley Jay, ”EFCC arresting someone for cyberstalking – they should come up with a better excuse if that’s the case.”
Ola, ”In Nigeria, you don’t have to commit any crime before getting arrested; after then, they would help you find the crimes you committed and charge you for it.”
Victor Ogbogu, ”Same question I was asking yesterday: what does the “Economic and Financial Crime Commission” have to do with cyberstalking? This country is just a cruise.”
Patrick Imhodume, ”Using EFCC to harass and detain VDM is an abuse of power which underscores the decay in the Nigerian system.”
Issa Sodiq Ishola, ”The law of Nigeria only favours the rich, except the rich fight each other & use the law as a weapon; the law does not affect them. The poor are oppressed with the law; either they are wrong or right. A lot needs to be corrected.”
Mr Grey, ”A very lawless country. When did the function of the EFCC encompass arresting for cyberbullying? If EFCC feels it has been defamed, why not allow the police to carry out investigations and possible prosecution instead of unlawful arrest?”
Puripapa, ”Their lawless way to show him; we’ll trample on you, and nothing whatsoever will happen, as he has been demanding the arrest of the Okoyas and calling them out for their obvious corrupt practices. What a shame!”
While many Nigerians opine that the EFCC are not authorised to prosecute suspects on cyberstalking allegations, checks by our correspondent reveal that the Commission is mandated within its purview to tackle cybercrimes, which include internet fraud and cyberstalking, among other crimes.
Speaking on Monday, April 29, 2024, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, while receiving a delegation from the International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol, that paid him a courtesy visit at the corporate headquarters of the Commission, noted that the Commission has made significant progress in fighting cybercrimes in the country.
“EFCC, apart from the police, is one of the prominent, specialised anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria that has the mandate to investigate cybercrime, and we have been doing that,” Olukayode stated.
