Popular Nigerian social critic, Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan has been arrested in Abuja following his outspoken criticism of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) over suspicious and repeated debits from his mother’s bank account.
The controversial influencer, known for calling out societal wrongs online, was picked up on Friday by officers of the Nigeria Police Force at Area 3, Abuja. His legal counsel, Barrister Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the arrest, stating it was carried out on the orders of GTBank.
“His only offence was speaking out about unauthorised debits linked to loans his mother never took,” Adeyanju said.
Prior to his arrest, VeryDarkMan had gone viral on social media after posting a video detailing alleged fraudulent loan repayments withdrawn from his mother’s GTBank account. He shared his frustrations while visiting a branch in Abuja to obtain a detailed bank statement.
“In this year alone, there have been over seven mysterious debits tagged as loan repayments,” he wrote. “GTBank staff are cooperating for now but we want answers.”
This is not the first time GTBank has come under fire. Just weeks earlier, Lagos-based customer Ariyo Ahmed Adewale accused the bank of ordering his arrest after he staged a protest at its Kosofe branch over more than ₦2 million in unauthorised transactions—allegedly linked to the e-commerce platform Jumia, which he insists he’s never used.
Ariyo stated, “I immediately called Guaranty Trust Bank customer care to block my account, but the deductions kept increasing. My card and phone were with me at all times.”
These back-to-back incidents have sparked concerns over Guaranty Trust Bank’s internal security systems and its handling of customer grievances, especially when those customers go public.
As social outrage builds online, all eyes are now on GTBank and the Nigerian police for answers on why transparency is seemingly being met with arrests.
