Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has said social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has become the new hope of the common man in Nigeria.
Farotimi made the claim in a video published on YouTube on Saturday while reacting to the controversy surrounding VeryDarkMan’s participation in the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
VeryDarkMan was invited as a panellist for a session titled “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen,” where he spoke about insecurity and his experiences visiting communities affected by killings and other attacks.
His appearance at the lawyers’ conference generated strong reactions, with some members of the legal profession questioning the decision to invite a social media personality to the event.
Farotimi, however, argued that the controversy should not be focused solely on VeryDarkMan, but on the institutional failures that have contributed to his growing popularity.
“A society that has law and order, that is ruled by law, that has a functional police system, a functional court system, would not even tolerate the presence or existence of a VDM,” he said.
According to him, VeryDarkMan represents a reflection of the weaknesses within Nigeria’s justice system.
He argued that Nigerians would have little reason to depend on social media activists for intervention if the police and courts were trusted to provide timely and accessible justice.
Farotimi therefore challenged the familiar description of the judiciary as the “last hope of the common man.”
“They say the judiciary is the last hope of the common man. Nah, lie. VDM has become the last hope of the common man in the society that you built,” he said.
The activist warned that the country could witness the emergence of more personalities operating outside traditional institutions if the grievances of Nigerians remained unresolved.
“The society you built requires VDM to do justice. Very soon there will be multiplicities of VDM in the society that you have built,” he said.
Farotimi also raised concerns about what could happen if citizens completely lost confidence in formal institutions.
“If the courts are useless, the VDMs of this world will emerge. And if you think VDM is the end of it, that’s the best you’re going to get. The ones who will come after, some of them will come behind him and they will carry guns to enforce their laws,” he said.
The comments came amid controversy over VeryDarkMan’s participation in the NBA conference, which held in Port Harcourt from August 21 to 28 under the theme, “Beyond Limits: Redefining the Practice of Law in Nigeria.”
The activist had defended his invitation, saying he attended the conference to speak about insecurity and represent the experiences of Nigerians affected by violence.
His appearance nevertheless drew criticism from some lawyers, including Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, who questioned the decision by the NBA to feature him as a panellist.
VeryDarkMan later criticised the legal profession, arguing that law had lost its traditional reputation as a noble profession.
For Farotimi, however, the controversy should serve as a warning to lawyers, judges and the wider society.
He said attacking VeryDarkMan would not address the conditions that had made Nigerians increasingly receptive to his activism.
“It didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t happen by accident. We didn’t stumble into this. We allowed it,” Farotimi said.
