Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has apologised to members of the Nigerian military, police, customs and immigration services over remarks he made during the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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Otse had described personnel of the security agencies as “unknown gunmen” while discussing insecurity at the conference, a statement that attracted widespread criticism.
However, in a video released on Friday, the activist said he had reflected on his comments and realised that he was unfair to security personnel who were genuinely risking 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, the immigration and the customs,” he said.
Otse maintained that he had evidence supporting the concerns he intended to raise but admitted that the manner in which he presented his argument created the impression that he was accusing every member of the security agencies of criminality.
“I know exactly what I was trying to say because I have evidence to back up my claim, but I wasn’t fair to a lot of people in that speech,” he said.
He particularly apologised to soldiers confronting Boko Haram and other security threats, saying it was unfair to place them in the same category as criminal elements when many had sacrificed their lives for the country.
“That speech was not fair, especially to the soldiers who are in the bushes fighting Boko Haram to protect our land, our lives and our families.
“I don’t think it is fair to say they are also the unknown gunmen because these people have laid down their lives,” he said.
According to Otse, his speech was intended to draw attention to alleged corruption, sabotage and information leaks by some personnel within the security agencies rather than discourage patriotic officers.
“My speech was entirely about the bad eggs in our security forces. It was to draw attention to them so that the leadership of these security agencies would look inward and see that information is sometimes leaked and that some of their personnel are sabotaging them,” he explained.
Otse apologised directly to the Chief of Defence Staff and asked him to extend the apology to troops serving in difficult conditions across the country.
“So, I will go further to say to the Chief of Defence Staff, sir, I sincerely apologise for that speech, and I do not want to discourage your men. Please extend my apologies to those in the bush protecting our land,” he said.
He also apologised to the police, customs and immigration authorities, as well as the families of security personnel who died in the line of duty.
“To the families of these heroes who might have felt offended by the speech, knowing that their brothers, sisters, sons or husbands fought and died for this country, I am really, really sorry,” he said.
The activist acknowledged that corruption existed within the security agencies but maintained that many officers remained honest and committed to protecting the country.
“Yes, there are a lot of bad eggs. A lot of corrupt generals, high-ranking police officers and junior officers are there, but there are still many more good people, and I know many of them,” he stated.
Otse nevertheless maintained his warning to personnel allegedly involved in sabotage, leaking operational information or supplying arms to terrorists, declaring that their “days are numbered.”
His appearance and comments at the NBA conference had generated controversy within the legal community, with Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana criticising the decision to assign specialised discussions to persons without the requisite professional experience.
Otse subsequently defended his invitation and mocked the criticism by appearing in a lawyer’s wig and gown in a video.
The activist concluded his latest video by urging Nigerians to support security personnel genuinely committed to protecting the country.
“To the patriots, the heroes and our fallen heroes who died protecting this country, I am really, really sorry,” he said.
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