ABUJA, Nigeria — Controversial Nigerian social media influencer Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), was re-arraigned on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of cyberbullying several public figures, including actresses Iyabo Ojo and Tonto Dikeh, as well as music producer Samuel Oguachuba, known professionally as Samklef.
The Inspector-General of Police re-arraigned Otse before Justice Musa Liman on a five-count charge under Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.
The charges stem from alleged social media posts considered offensive, threatening, or defamatory in nature.
Otse pleaded not guilty to all five counts.
His legal counsel, Deji Adeyanju, urged the court to maintain the bail conditions previously granted by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of a sister court.
The prosecution, represented by Victor Okoye, did not oppose the request, and Justice Liman agreed to continue the previous bail terms.
The case was adjourned to July 24, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
The original charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2024 and filed on March 28, 2024, had initially been assigned to Justice Olajuwon, who granted Otse bail on June 10, 2024.
The conditions included a ₦10 million bond and two sureties, either federal civil servants at Grade Level 17 or employees of reputable companies, with evidence of three years’ tax clearance.
Justice Olajuwon’s transfer to another division of the Federal High Court prompted the reassignment of the case to Justice Liman.
In the first count, Otse is accused of intentionally posting a video on his Instagram account on or about October 13, 2023, which allegedly contained threatening and bullying content aimed at Samklef.
The second count relates to a video allegedly posted on October 29, 2023, in which Otse reportedly made offensive and obscene statements against Iyabo Ojo, including a claim that “one Ivabo Ojo is having indecent sexual relationship with her daughter.”
In the third count, Otse is alleged to have falsely accused Tonto Dikeh on January 19, 2024, of misappropriating funds raised for the “Justice for Mohbad” campaign and of being the anonymous figure behind the controversial gossip platform, Gistlover Blog.
The fourth count centres on a March 19, 2024, video in which Otse reportedly made insulting remarks about Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and members of the National Assembly.
