NBA conference

Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has apologised to Nigeria’s security and enforcement agencies over comments he made at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The activist tendered the apology in a video posted on his Facebook page on Friday after reflecting on his remarks during a panel session at the conference.

During the session, VDM referred to personnel of the Nigerian military, police, Nigeria Immigration Service and Nigeria Customs Service as “unknown gunmen.”

He also alleged that some police officers stationed at checkpoints provide information about travellers to kidnappers and terrorists. The police subsequently invited him to present evidence to support the allegation.

In his latest video, however, VDM admitted that his remarks were unfair to many security personnel, particularly those who risk their lives to protect Nigerians.

“I don’t think I was fair to a lot of people, particularly the speech where I said that the military are the unknown gunmen, the police are the unknown gunmen, you know, the immigration, the customs.

“I know exactly what I was trying to say because, I mean, I have evidence to back up my claim, but I wasn’t fair to a lot of people in that speech,” he said.

He said his comments were especially unfair to soldiers deployed to areas affected by Boko Haram insurgency.

“That speech was not fair, especially to the soldiers that are in the bushes fighting Boko Haram to protect our lands, to protect our lives, and to protect our families.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say they are also the unknown gunmen, to be very honest, because these people have laid down their lives,” he said.

According to the activist, his intention was to draw attention to alleged corruption, information leaks and sabotage by some individuals within the security agencies, rather than accuse every officer of wrongdoing.

“My speech was not to discourage you. My speech was entirely to talk about the bad eggs in our security operative, our security forces, is to put attention on the bad eggs, so that the leaders in these security settings will look inward and to see that sometimes information are being leaked and their own people are sabotaging them,” he said.

VDM acknowledged that although he stood by the concerns raised in his speech, the manner in which he presented them amounted to an unfair generalisation.

“But by passing that speech, like I said, it seems like I was generalising and it’s not fair to the fallen soldiers,” he said.

He added: “(There’s) a lot of corrupt generals, a lot of high-ranking police officers are corrupt, a lot of junior officers are corrupt, a lot of them are there.

“But there’s still a lot of more good people, a lot of more good people, and I know a lot of them.”

Apology To Defence Chief

VDM also directed a specific apology to the Chief of Defence Staff and the leadership of the country’s security agencies.

“So I will go further to say to the Chief of Defence Staff. Sir, I really want to apologise for that speech, and I don’t want to discourage your boys.

“Please extend my apologies to your boys, to the ones that are in the bush protecting our lands,” he said.

The activist said he was concerned that soldiers and other security personnel who were genuinely committed to protecting the country could feel discouraged after watching his comments from the NBA conference.

He also disclosed that he has maintained contact with the police and sometimes passes information to officers.

“Me and the police, we work steadily. I give, sometimes I share police information, tell them, ‘Oh, this is what is happening here, please, can you intercept,” he said.

He appealed to security personnel who are committed to protecting Nigerians not to be discouraged by his comments.

“We’re there behind you now, and we’ll always support you. You know, and we are part of this thing, security is for all of us,” he said.

Warning To ‘Bad Eggs’

Despite his apology, VDM maintained his criticism of security personnel whom he accused of undermining their colleagues through sabotage, arms supply and the leakage of information to terrorists.

“But then again, to the bad eggs, your days are numbered. To all of you in the military that are sabotaging and causing deaths to your officers, your days are numbered,” he stated.