*Calls Lawyers Who Attacked Him “Open University Lawyers, TikTok Challenge Lawyers, Bunch Of Clowns”
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Social media commentator Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has reacted to an address delivered on behalf of the 68 newly conferred Senior Advocates of Nigeria at the Supreme Court this week, interpreting portions of the speech as a vindication of his earlier criticism of the legal profession.
“He saw my criticism. He knew that what I criticised was the truth,” VeryDarkMan said while reacting to the address.
He, however, incorrectly identified the Senior Advocate who delivered the speech.
VeryDarkMan’s video opened with a reading of the portion of the address in which the speaker reflected on criticism of the legal profession following an Annual General Conference where, according to the speech, “some very dark person who barely had a secondary school certificate was given a platform to address the largest gathering of lawyers in Africa.”
The address recalled that the individual was later reported to have described lawyers who criticised his invitation as “a bunch of clowns” and questioned whether law could still be regarded as a noble profession.
It further recalled criticisms that the legal profession had, in recent times, lost some of its prestige, that many lawyers hardly appeared in court and that some graduates of the Nigerian Law School eventually found themselves engaged in businesses outside legal practice.
Responding to those criticisms, the speaker acknowledged that although the remarks were painful, some aspects deserved serious reflection by members of the profession.
“These careful remarks hurt me as a member of the legal profession, but there is some truth in what he has said, which calls for introspection,” he said.
The Senior Advocate thereafter proposed a number of reforms to address what he considered growing challenges within legal education and practice in Nigeria.
He called on the Council of Legal Education to take urgent steps to check what he described as an explosion in the number of legal practitioners, while also advocating stricter control over the accreditation of faculties of law and greater discipline in the admission of students to study law.
He further suggested that law should be considered as a second degree and that admission to the Nigerian Law School should be subject to a qualifying examination in addition to possession of a law degree.
The speaker also drew attention to what he described as a backlog of more than 5,000 law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria awaiting admission into the Nigerian Law School.
“Recently I was shocked to read that even the National Open University of Nigeria has a backlog of over 5,000 law graduates currently waiting for admission into Law School. I didn’t even know that they had a law faculty,” he said.
It was particularly the acknowledgment that there was “some truth” in the criticism of the profession, together with the reference to the National Open University, that VeryDarkMan seized upon in his response.
“You see, this is the best Senior Advocate in Nigeria. No, I will not say he’s the best, because I have a lot of Senior Advocates. He’s one of the best Senior Advocates,” he said.
“He saw my criticism. He knew that what I criticised was the truth.”
VeryDarkMan then used the reference to the National Open University to renew his criticism of lawyers who had previously challenged his comments about the profession.
“But finally, I like what he said. Because at least now I know that all those lawyers that were criticising me, now Open University now study law. I did not even know,” he said.
He went on to contrast what he described as the traditional prestige associated with being a lawyer with what he believes has become the current state of the profession.
“Before they call you lawyer, you know what you study. You are an epitome of intelligence. You are a landmark of structure. You are a beacon of justice,” he said.
VeryDarkMan also repeated his description of some practitioners as “TikTok lawyers,” a label he used for lawyers whom he accused of being more interested in social media trends than in developing themselves professionally.
“Lawyer where they do TikTok challenge. Now I want to say TikTok lawyers,” he said.
He subsequently referred to what he presented as remarks by another Senior Advocate, at one point mentioning Femi Falana, SAN, and again interpreted the comments as an acknowledgment that aspects of his earlier criticism deserved consideration.
“You see what this man is saying. He’s another Senior Advocate. God bless this man. See what he talk. He say he hurts him. What I talk pain am. Because there are truths in what I said. This is no longer a noble profession again. Not like before. It was, but now…” he said.
Returning to the figure of more than 5,000 law graduates awaiting admission to professional training, VeryDarkMan said: “Now, I see say 5,000. This size small Nigeria. Law School 5,000 people graduate. They call them out to Bar.”
He then made one of the central remarks in the video: “So, many of you that they call to Bar will end up as bartenders.”
Despite his criticism, VeryDarkMan sought to draw a distinction between lawyers he regarded as serious and committed professionals and those he accused of pursuing the profession mainly for status or social recognition.
“God bless the Senior Advocates. God bless all the noble lawyers out there. All the noble ones. All the people that studied law. That studied law, not the people that are lawyers. The people that studied it. Not the people that just want to have the title ‘I am a lawyer’. The people that studied law because they want to change the justice system of this country to take it to the next level,” he said.
He continued: “Not all these ones that are here for bragging rights. These Open University lawyers. These TikTok challenge lawyers. Bunch of clowns. They’re talking rubbish.”
VeryDarkMan also praised members of his own legal team, saying they comprised lawyers of different levels of seniority.
“Shout out to my lawyers. My own lawyers are very good. They have a very good legal team. I have SANs. I have senior lawyers, junior lawyers, baby lawyers. But no TikTok lawyers and no Open University lawyers. Peace and love. Bye-bye,” he said.
The address which prompted VeryDarkMan’s reaction was delivered by Ibrahim Gamdeh Adamu, SAN, on behalf of the 68 newly conferred Senior Advocates of Nigeria at the special session of the Supreme Court held on October 12, 2026, to mark the opening of the 2026/2027 legal year.
Beyond the observations picked up by VeryDarkMan, Adamu used the address to raise broader concerns about the growth of the legal profession and the administration of justice.
He contrasted the 501 lawyers enrolled alongside him in 1981 with more than 13,000 lawyers he said had been enrolled between February and July 2026, citing the figures as evidence of the rapid expansion of the profession.
Adamu called on the Council of Legal Education to address the increase in the number of practitioners and proposed tighter accreditation standards for law faculties and stricter controls over admission into legal education.
Apart from suggesting that law should become a second degree and that entry into the Nigerian Law School should require a separate qualifying examination, he also proposed a mandatory two-year internship before a newly qualified lawyer could establish a law firm.
On judicial reform, Adamu advocated the reintroduction of Section 233(3) of the Constitution so that appeals involving mixed questions of law and fact would terminate at the Court of Appeal rather than proceed automatically to the Supreme Court.
He also referred to a debt-related case which, according to him, took 21 years to reach the Supreme Court only for the matter to be sent back for trial, using the case to illustrate the consequences of prolonged litigation and delays within the justice system.
VeryDarkMan, however, did not correctly identify Adamu as the person who delivered the address.
The photo he used in the course of his reaction appears to correspond to a different Senior Advocate, reportedly the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The attribution is incorrect.
VeryDarkMan’s central claim was that a Senior Advocate had effectively acknowledged that there was some truth in his criticism of the Nigerian legal profession. The Senior Advocate who made that acknowledgment, raised concerns about the increasing number of lawyers and proposed the accompanying reforms was Ibrahim Gamdeh Adamu, SAN.
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