VeryDarkMan apologises to military, police over ‘unknown gunmen’ comment

By Damilola Akinwale –

Controversial social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has apologised to the military and other security agencies over his controversial comments about security personnel at the recently held Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference.

VeryDarkMan made the apology in a video shared on his Facebook page on Friday, after reflecting on his speech, during which he referred to military, police, immigration and customs personnel as “unknown gunmen” while speaking on insecurity.

He explained that although his criticism was directed at “the bad eggs” among them, he realised that his comment was unfair to security personnel risking their lives to protect Nigerians, particularly soldiers fighting insurgencies.

VDM said his comments were prompted by alleged corruption, sabotage and information leaks by some individuals within the security agencies, rather than the personnel as a whole.

He acknowledged, however, that the manner in which he made the point amounted to a generalisation that could undermine the sacrifices of security personnel who had died in the line of duty.

“Even though my speech at the conference was targeted at the bad eggs and the system, the saboteurs, the sellouts in the system, I still understand that it might discourage some of you who have sacrificed and are still sacrificing for our beloved country, Nigeria,” he said.

“Someone like me, who has access to a lot of information about insecurity in Nigeria, also has access to information on how security operatives fight to protect lives, land and property. Some is not all. I apologise to the patriots sacrificing for our great nation. The military, the police, immigration and customs, do not be discouraged. We, the people, are right behind you.”

He called on the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oloyede and other security authorities to relay his apology to personnel serving in difficult and dangerous conditions. He also apologised to the families of fallen heroes who might have felt offended by his speech.