ABUJA, Nigeria – Martins Vincent Otse, better known by his online moniker VeryDarkMan, has been arrested by officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja, following public allegations he made against Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) over alleged unauthorised deductions from his mother’s bank account.
Otse, a popular Nigerian influencer known for outspoken commentary on social issues, was taken into custody on Friday at Area 3 Police Division in Abuja.
His lawyer, Barrister Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the arrest, describing it as retaliation for Otse’s criticism of the bank.
“My client, VeryDarkMan, was arrested today in Abuja by the Nigerian police. His only offence was speaking out about suspicious and repeated debits from his mother’s GTBank account for loans she never took,” Adeyanju said.
The arrest followed a series of posts by Otse on social media platforms in which he detailed what he claimed were multiple, unexplained deductions from his mother’s account.
According to the influencer, the debits were labelled as loan repayments, despite his mother never applying for any loans with the bank.
In a viral post earlier this week, Otse stated, “Myself and my mom just arrived at GTBank to get an explanation for the constant debit from her account by GTBank in the name of loan repayments that she never took. In this year alone, see the amount of times she has been debited with different amounts.”
“We have requested her bank statements so we know when the debiting started. So far, in this year alone, there have been more than seven debits on loan repayments. GTBank staff are cooperating—hopefully, we’ll know why they keep doing this.”
As of the time of publication, GTBank has not released a public statement addressing either the arrest or the influencer’s allegations.
The police have also not commented on the specific charges against Otse or provided further details about the circumstances of his detention.
Otse’s arrest has sparked debate online, with civil rights advocates and social media users accusing authorities of attempting to silence whistleblowers and critics.
Others have called for transparency from both the police and GTBank regarding the nature of the dispute and the legal grounds for the arrest.
