Social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has been released from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after spending five days in detention.
His release was made public on Wednesday, May 7, by activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore. In a post on his X account, Sowore wrote, “Thanks to unrelenting efforts of all, @thatverydarkman has been released from unjust detention at the @officialEFCC. He is with his ebullient lawyer, @adeyanjudeji.”
VeryDarkMan’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, also confirmed the news on X. “VDM released to us on bail,” he posted, thanking Nigerians and public figures who supported the activist during his detention.
He added, “Special thanks to @DAPLawFirm, especially the head of our firm @Marvin\_Omorogbe. Thank you Nigerians for speaking up for him. Thank you Egbon @YeleSowore. Thank you HE Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Davido, opposition lawmakers, etc. I must also thank the chairman of EFCC for indulging and listening to all my concerns since on Friday last week. The struggle continues.”
Earlier, Adeyanju had raised concerns about the delay in releasing VeryDarkMan even after bail was granted. He described the situation as “social media bail,” saying the EFCC had not issued formal bail documents.
“Bail granted VDM, social media bail, as we are yet to receive any bail document from the commission. We have made several repeated demands in this regard since yesterday,” Adeyanju stated.
The EFCC had said in a statement on Tuesday that the activist had been granted administrative bail but was still in custody because his bail conditions had not been fully met.
According to the commission, VeryDarkMan was invited over several petitions accusing him of serious financial crimes. They claimed he was arrested after ignoring multiple invitations sent to his known addresses and contact channels.
