Social media critic, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has been remanded in police custody following his arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
Otse, 29, a resident of Karu, Abuja, is known for provocative comments on social media.
He is facing five counts bordering on cyberstalking against the Nigerian police and Nollywood actresses Iyabo Ojo and Tonto Dikeh, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Otse’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, applied for bail during the hearing on Wednesday, but the police prosecuting team requested more time to respond to the application.
Consequently, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon adjourned the bail hearing to May 29. The prosecution sought to have Otse remanded in prison custody, but his lawyers successfully argued for his remand in police custody instead.
Otse was subsequently taken to the National Cybercrime Centre after the court granted his layer’s request.
The charges against Otse include:
- Posting a video on October 29, 2023, on his Instagram handle ‘verydarkblackman’ that contained offensive, pornographic, or menacing information, falsely alleging that Iyabo Ojo had an indecent sexual relationship with her daughter, violating Section 24 (1)(a) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.
- Posting a video on January 19, 2024, on Instagram, accusing Tonto Dikeh of criminal conversion of crowdfunding proceeds and being behind the Gistlover blog, intending to cause annoyance, inconvenience, and other harm, in violation of Section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrime Act.
- Posting a video on March 19, 2024, alleging that senior police officers and lawmakers were involved in sexual activities with Bobrisky, intending to cause annoyance and harm, violating Section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrime Act.
- Posting another video on March 19, 2024, claiming that Bobrisky was pimping young boys to senators and senior police officers, intending to cause annoyance, inconvenience, and other harm, in violation of Section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrime Act.
- the Whisler