Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has strongly criticized the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for inviting controversial social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), as a panelist at its ongoing annual general conference.
Otse featured on Tuesday as a speaker in a critical panel session titled “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen” [sic] at the 66th Annual General Conference of the NBA in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. His presence has since triggered intense debate within the legal community.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Thursday, August 27, 2026, Falana expressed deep disappointment, arguing that the prestigious legal association should prioritize individuals with documented, professional expertise over internet celebrities.
“In those days, the NBA brought individuals who had paid their dues, who were coming to engage lawyers intellectually,” Falana remarked. “We wanted to learn from them, and so none of our conferences was a circus show in the past. If you are bringing in an expert to discuss the security of the country, either from the private or public sector, such an individual must have contributed to the security architecture of the country. But when you bring people who have nothing to do with the security of the country, there are problems.”
The senior advocate compared the decision to inviting a complete outsider with zero journalism background to lecture veteran media practitioners on press freedom. He noted that while entertainment has its place, high-level discussions on national survival require serious intellectual engagement.
“To just go and bring somebody from nowhere to come and entertain you, there are problems with that,” Falana added.
During the controversial Tuesday panel, Otse sparked a major institutional row by alleging that corrupt police officers manning highway checkpoints deliberately profile wealthy travelers and leak their itineraries to kidnapping syndicates. The Nigeria Police Force has since forcefully rejected the accusation as an “unsubstantiated” attack on its integrity, formally summoning the activist to present verified evidence to back his claims.
