The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied a report by BBC News Pidgin regarding the reason for the arrest of controversial social critic, Martins Otse, widely called VeryDarkMan (VDM).
BBC News Pidgin had earlier reported that the anti-graft agency, through its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest of VeryDarkMan over multiple petitions against him on Monday.
According to the reports, VeryDarkMan was taken into custody following complaints from several petitioners.
They also quoted Oyewale as saying that the critic would be released “when he meets the bail conditions,” and that he was to be arraigned soon.
But, the EFCC has taken to its social media handles on Monday evening to counter the BBC News Pidgin report, describing it as “fake news”.
The anti-graft agency did not state further details as it just posted the screenshot of the BBC News Pidgin report and from one other person and dub it ‘fake news’.
Chronicle NG reported that VeryDarkMan was apprehended on Thursday, May 2, 2025, shortly after visiting a GTBank branch in Area 3, Garki, Abuja.
The arrest has drawn public criticism and sparked outrage on social media, with allegations that the bank collaborated with EFCC operatives to effec the arrest.
According to his lawyer, activist Deji Adeyanju, VeryDarkMan was held inside the bank’s security exit door for several minutes, allegedly to delay him until EFCC operatives arrived.
“VDM was locked inside the GTB exit door for over five minutes to enable EFCC to arrest him and his friend.
“We will take legal action against GTB for this treatment.”
