Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, has apologized to soldiers, policemen, customs and immigration personnel over his controversial remarks at the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference.
In a video posted on Friday, Otse stated that he had pondered on his comments and realized that he was being unfair to security officers who were actually risking their lives to defend Nigerians.
During his discussion on insecurity at a conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the activist referred to military, police, immigration, and customs personnel as “unknown gunmen.”
However, in Friday’s video, Otse clarified that his words were not intended to accuse all security personnel of criminal activity.
“I don’t think I was fair to a lot of people, particularly in 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 stated that he was particularly concerned about soldiers fighting Boko Haram and other threats in the bushes.
“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.
VDM said his intention was to draw attention to alleged corruption 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, and to put attention on the bad eggs so that the leaders in these security settings will look inward and see that sometimes information is being leaked and their own people are sabotaging them,” he said.
He did, however, admit that the manner in which he presented his argument gave the impression that he was generalizing.
“But by passing that speech, like I said, it seems like I was generalizing, and it’s not fair to the fallen soldiers,” he said.
VDM subsequently apologized to the Chief of Defence Staff and the leadership of the security agencies.
“So I will go further to say to the Chief of Defence Staff, Sir, I really want to apologize 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.
VDM also apologized to the police, customs and immigration authorities, as well as the 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, or their husband fought and died for this country, I am really, really sorry,” he said.
VeryDarkMan maintained that there were still “a lot of good people” within the security agencies despite his allegations against some personnel.
“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, and a lot of them are there. But there are still a lot more good people, a lot more good people, and I know a lot of them,” he said.
VDM said he feared his comments could discourage a soldier fighting in the bush who 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.
VeryDarkMan, who has previously spoken about alleged misconduct by security personnel, said his relationship with some policemen had also exposed him to the challenges facing the force.
“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 called on security personnel who were genuinely protecting the country not to be discouraged by his comments.
“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.
The activist, however, maintained his warning to personnel allegedly involved in sabotage, arms supply, 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.
The apology comes amid controversy surrounding Otse’s appearance at the NBA conference, when his participation and statements drew criticism.
Femi Falana, Nigeria’s Senior Advocate, had criticized Otse’s defense of his position at the conference and urged qualified speakers to conduct specialized issues at the event.
Otse responded to critics by defending his invitation to the conference and explaining why he was asked to speak.
He later parodied the outrage by appearing in a video wearing a lawyer’s wig and gown.
His recent apologies follow a separate issue over his accusations that certain police officials at checkpoints transfer information about wealthy travelers to kidnappers.
The police had challenged him to give evidence for the claim, to which Otse responded by challenging the authorities to charge him in court and promising to present his evidence.
In Friday’s video, however, Otse emphasized that his condemnation of alleged malfeasance should not be taken as antipathy toward security organizations in general.
“I actually know more than the people I was trying to communicate with, so it was not really communicated properly,” he said.
VDM 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.
