Military representatives at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have pushed back against sweeping allegations of corruption attributed to social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, insisting that serious accusations against the Armed Forces must be supported with evidence.
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The confrontation occurred on Tuesday during the conference’s Day Five plenary session titled “Known Gun Men,” which brought together lawyers, security officials, advocates and other stakeholders to discuss insecurity and the legal and institutional weaknesses fuelling violence across Nigeria.
Responding to remarks made by VeryDarkMan during the session, a female military representative told the gathering that an assembly described as the largest gathering of lawyers in Africa could not allow serious allegations against an entire institution to go unchallenged where no evidence had been presented.
“The record is very straight because this is a gathering of the largest number of lawyers in the whole of Africa. And we cannot sit down here and make some sweeping statements that are without any proof, without any evidence,” she said.
As reactions arose from the audience, the officer requested silence before proceeding with her response.
“I want to put it on record. I want it to be on record that — please, can I have silence, please?” she said.
She then directly challenged what she understood to be VeryDarkMan’s characterisation of the military.
“If VeryDarkMan will sit here and say that all military are corrupt, it’s as good as saying all lawyers are corrupt,” she said.
The military representative repeated the comparison, arguing that indicting an entire institution on the basis of alleged misconduct by some members amounted to an unjustifiable generalisation.
“So let that be clear and let it be established that if you say that all military are corrupt, then all lawyers are corrupt,” she stated.
She went on to defend the role of the Armed Forces in maintaining Nigeria’s security, saying military personnel continued to make significant sacrifices alongside other security stakeholders to preserve stability across the country.
She described the military as a critical institution supporting the safety and stability necessary for national life, including the ability of lawyers to gather peacefully for the NBA conference.
“I also want to put it on record firmly that the only institution in this country that is holding this country, the only institution that is giving us the safety, the sanity we need, in support with other stakeholders, is the military,” she said.
According to her, Nigerian military personnel were losing their lives daily in operations aimed at protecting citizens and maintaining peace.
“I want to put it also on record that military men daily, every day, they are dying to make sure that we have the peace that we are having to even hold this conference,” she added.
She therefore urged VeryDarkMan and other public commentators to distinguish between legitimate criticism of individual wrongdoing and allegations directed at an entire institution.
The officer stressed that where anyone possessed information suggesting corruption or other misconduct within the Armed Forces, such evidence should be submitted to the appropriate authorities for investigation rather than used as a basis for broad accusations.
“So please, when we make statements that are not founded, without any basis, please, let’s come out with your evidence, and if you have your proof, you table it before the appropriate authorities for proper investigation,” she said.
The moderator acknowledged the intervention, saying, “Your point is taken.”
Another military representative subsequently took the microphone and introduced himself as a colonel before also referring to the significance of making allegations before such a large gathering of lawyers.
The individual name of the female military officer who delivered the principal rebuttal was not established in the material available, with reports and social-media clips generally describing her as part of the military delegation or military representatives at the conference.
The exchange followed VeryDarkMan’s earlier defence of his controversial inclusion on the NBA panel.
The social media activist had told lawyers that he was not invited to teach them law but to contribute from what he described as his firsthand encounters with insecurity and victims of violent attacks.
“There has been a lot of debate as to why VeryDarkMan is invited. I am not here to teach you the law. I am here to share an experience,” he told the conference.
He argued that critics of his participation were overlooking the subject of the session and said insecurity had become particularly relevant to lawyers because members of the judiciary were themselves falling victim to kidnappers.
“This is not the topic of ‘if I may, my Lord’, because a lot of your Lords are being kidnapped,” he said.
VDM cited the reported kidnapping of a judge travelling from Sokoto who, according to his account, was abducted in Kebbi State on July 26 and released about a week later.
He also recounted visits to several communities affected by killings and explosions, including Yelwata, Angwan Rukuba in Jos, Bokkos and locations in Borno State, saying those experiences had exposed him directly to the consequences of insecurity.
“I’ve seen blood. I’ve seen people burnt alive,” he told the gathering.
VeryDarkMan also criticised sections of the conventional media, including television stations, accusing them of failing to adequately document the aftermath of killings and violent attacks.
He said this had created space for people such as himself to visit affected communities and publicise the experiences of victims.
During his wider intervention, VDM made broad claims about corruption and alleged institutional interests surrounding Nigeria’s persistent insecurity, prompting the military representatives to demand specific evidence rather than general accusations.
The military response therefore became one of the sharpest moments of the “Known Gun Men” plenary, highlighting tensions between public demands for accountability and the concern of security institutions that allegations against particular individuals should not be extended indiscriminately to entire organisations.
VDM’s appearance at the conference had already generated significant debate among lawyers and members of the public.
Critics questioned why the NBA invited a controversial social-media personality to participate in a major professional conference, while supporters argued that people with direct exposure to victims and communities affected by insecurity could contribute perspectives different from those offered by lawyers, policymakers and security officials.
VDM responded to that controversy by insisting that his presence was based on experience rather than professional legal expertise.
The military representatives, however, made clear that experiential knowledge did not remove the responsibility to substantiate serious allegations.
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