EFCC Dismisses Reports of Popular Influencer VeryDarkMan’s Arrest As Fake

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied reports claiming it arrested popular social media activist and rights advocate, Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).

In a post shared on the social media platform X on Monday, the commission described a news story by BBC News Pidgin as fake.

Earlier, BBC News Pidgin had reported that the EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the arrest, saying, “We arrested him to respond to a series of allegations raised against him by some petitioners.”

The outlet also stated that when asked whether the arrest was related to any issues with a new generation bank, Oyewale explained that the complaints came from different people.

Otse was reportedly taken into custody on Thursday, May 2, 2025, shortly after he visited a GTBank branch in Area 3, Garki, Abuja.

He was said to have gone there with his mother and a friend to resolve complaints about unauthorised deductions from his mother’s account when the arrest occurred.