Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as Verydarkman, a social media influencer and blogger, was released by the Nigerian police just a few hours after his arrest on Sunday.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Mr. Benneth Igwe, confirmed the release on Sunday evening.
News About Nigeria reported that on Sunday afternoon, Deji Adeyanju, the lawyer representing Verydarkman, disclosed that his client had been apprehended for exposing an individual who allegedly duped a Nigerian abroad.
Adeyanju shared the news on his X account, stating, “Our client, @thatverydarkman has just been arrested by the police on the instruction of CP Igwe for exposing someone who allegedly duped a Nigerian abroad. Instead of the police to arrest the person alleged to have duped someone, they arrested VDM on allegation of defamation.”
However, Verydarkman was released only a couple of hours after his arrest.
This arrest follows a series of legal proceedings involving VeryDarkMan.
On Monday, June 10, 2024, News About Nigeria reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja had granted bail to the influencer.
He was subsequently released from police custody after fulfilling his bail conditions.
Earlier, on Wednesday, May 22, police charge sheets indicated that Verydarkman had been arraigned on five counts related to cyberstalking.
The police prosecuting team informed Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court that they needed more time to respond to the application, a request that was granted by the court.
The police prosecution sought to have the blogger remanded in prison, but his lawyers successfully argued for him to be kept in police custody instead.
Consequently, he was taken to the National Cybercrime Centre.
