NIGERIA: VeryDarkMan Alleges Attempt To Silence Critics As Lawyer Petitions EFCC Over Funding Of His Activities

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has reacted strongly to a petition reportedly submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking an investigation into his financial activities and those of human rights lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju.

The petition, dated June 11, 2026, was reportedly written by Edo State-based lawyer, Blessing Agbomhere, and addressed to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC in Abuja. It called on the anti-graft agency to investigate the sources of funding for the advocacy campaigns, protests and public mobilization activities carried out by VeryDarkMan and Adeyanju.

Reacting in a post shared on his social media pages, VeryDarkMan alleged that the petition was politically motivated and aimed at silencing critics of the Federal Government.

“They want to stop us from speaking against this evil government that has failed to protect the lives of Nigerians, so they used their people to write petitions,” he wrote.

According to him, the petition was allegedly orchestrated by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, because of the recent nationwide protests against insecurity and poor governance.

“They say APC wrote a petition to EFCC to investigate myself and Adeyanju Deji. According to the petition, they are claiming we are fighting against bad governance and therefore we are being sponsored, so they need to investigate us. They claim our protest is so organized and organic, they are surprised by the turnout of Nigerians that want change,” he stated.

The activist further alleged that the ultimate objective of the petition was to portray him and his associates as sponsors of activities capable of destabilizing the government.

“In a nutshell, they want to claim we are sponsoring terrorism in order to disrupt the APC government,” he added.

VeryDarkMan specifically identified the petitioner as Blessing Agbomhere, a lawyer from Edo State, promising to release more details in subsequent posts.

The petition seen by African Culture TV, however, did not accuse either VeryDarkMan or Adeyanju of committing any crime. Rather, Agbomhere requested the EFCC to investigate what he described as the sources of funding for their sustained advocacy activities, public campaigns and organized protests.

In the document, the lawyer argued that the scale and frequency of the activists’ public engagements, media campaigns, legal interventions and nationwide mobilization exercises justified scrutiny of the financial resources deployed in executing such activities.

He urged the EFCC to conduct what he described as a comprehensive forensic investigation into their income, assets, bank accounts, corporate entities, fundraising arrangements and possible local or foreign sponsorship.

Agbomhere also requested the commission to determine whether there were any indicators of money laundering, tax evasion, unlawful fundraising, foreign financial interference or other financial crimes. He further called for collaboration between the EFCC and other intelligence and security agencies to ascertain whether any national security concerns arose from the source or utilization of funds linked to the activists’ operations.

However, the lawyer expressly stated in the petition that it did not seek to establish criminal liability against either VeryDarkMan or Adeyanju.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this petition does not purport to establish criminal liability against the persons named herein. Rather, it seeks the exercise of the Commission’s investigative powers in order to promote transparency, accountability, public confidence and compliance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the petition stated.

The development comes days after VeryDarkMan led protests in Abuja over worsening insecurity, kidnappings and killings across parts of Nigeria. The demonstrations attracted dozens of supporters who demanded stronger action by the Federal Government against banditry and violent crimes, while also criticizing what they described as the government’s failure to protect lives and property.

VeryDarkMan has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most prominent social media activists, frequently using his platforms to campaign against corruption, insecurity and alleged abuse of power. His activism has also seen him involved in several high-profile disputes, petitions and legal battles involving public officials, celebrities and institutions.

As of the time of filing this report, the EFCC had not issued any public statement indicating whether it had commenced an investigation based on the petition, while the APC had not officially responded to VeryDarkMan’s allegation that the petition was politically motivated.