A surge of public outrage under the hashtag #FreeVDM continues to unfold following the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) arrest of activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known on social media as “VeryDarkMan” on May 2, 2025, at a GTBank outlet in Abuja.
Otse was detained immediately after he attempted to access the GTBank exit door—an action his supporters claim was engineered to facilitate the EFCC’s intervention. Activist-lawyer Deji Adeyanju alleges Otse was “locked inside the GTB exit door for over five minutes to enable EFCC to arrest him.” On the same day of his arrest, the EFCC stated through spokesperson Dele Oyewale that Otse was held “to respond to allegations raised against him by some petitioners” and that he would be released once he met bail conditions.
On May 3, the EFCC secured a court order to continue detaining Otse over alleged cyber-related complaints, stating he would be released once he met bail conditions and would later face formal charges. Despite that, multiple hashtags surrounding #FreeVDM exploded across social media, with Nigerians vowing to boycott GTBank for its perceived role in facilitating the arrest and warning of “mass withdrawals” unless Otse was freed
By May 5, demonstrators had gathered outside the GTBank branch in Area 3, Garki, demanding Otse’s release as #FreeVDM climbed the Twitter trends. One digital-rights advocate, @Street__lawyer, declared: “#freevdm is not a trend but a movement … He’s more useful to the Nigerian youths than those in power.” Another user under #FreeVDMNow wrote: “VeryDarkMan has been fighting for Nigeria youths for so long now. You can’t bring him down EFCC no matter how you try.”
Former presidential candidate and Labour Party leader Peter Obi remarked via a statement on X that “We must return to a Nigeria where justice is done and is seen to be done without theatrics or abuse. A country where youth can speak freely, judges can serve with dignity, and institutions act responsibly. That is the Nigeria we must rebuild”
Leading broadcast journalist, and co-host on Arise TV, Oseni Rufai, publicly made a statement on May 5th saying the EFCC’s through its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, on Monday, confirmed to BBC News Pidgin that VeryDarkman was taken into custody following several cyberstalking allegation complaints stemming from multiple petitioners, however, the EFCC debunked this on their public page, with the agency still yet to release a statement about this case on their public page.
With #FreeVDM showing no signs of fading, further protests are scheduled near the EFCC headquarters in Jabi, while online momentum grows. Observers warn that failure to either formally charge Otse or release him by week’s end may intensify both street demonstrations and digital activism.
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