Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has responded to human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, after the lawyer criticised the Nigerian Bar Association’s decision to invite him as a panellist at its annual conference.
Falana had questioned VDM’s suitability for a panel on national security during the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Falana argued that people invited to discuss specialised issues such as national security should have demonstrable experience or a connection to the country’s security architecture.
“In those days, the NBA brought individuals who had paid their dues, who were coming to engage lawyers intellectually. We wanted to learn from them, and so none of our conferences was a circus show in the past.”
Falana further argued that the NBA should invite people with relevant professional experience when discussing national security.
“So, if you are bringing in an expert to discuss the security of the country, either from the private or public sector, such an individual must have contributed to the security architecture of the country.”
He also compared the invitation to bringing someone without professional experience to address journalists about press freedom, saying there were problems with inviting someone “from nowhere” to entertain attendees.
VDM, however, has pushed back against the criticism, maintaining that he was not invited to teach lawyers about the law.
During his appearance at the NBA conference, VDM had already explained why he accepted the invitation, saying his role was to share his experiences of insecurity and violence across Nigeria.
“There has been a lot of debate about why I was invited to this NBA conference. I’m not here to teach you people law; I’m here to share experience.”
He argued that his experiences visiting communities affected by violence gave him a perspective that could contribute to discussions about insecurity.
VDM also pointed to his reported experiences at scenes of violence, including the Yelwata attack in Benue State, as part of the reason he was invited to participate in the discussion.
The controversy comes after VDM made allegations during the conference that some police officers stationed at checkpoints allegedly identify wealthy travellers and pass information about their movements to kidnappers.
The Nigeria Police Force subsequently invited VDM to provide evidence supporting the allegations. The police described the claims as unsubstantiated and said credible evidence would be investigated.
VDM has maintained that he will present his evidence in court if the police decide to charge him, rather than submitting it directly to the force.
The latest exchange between VDM and Falana has added another dimension to the debate over who should be invited to speak at professional conferences and whether personal experiences can provide valuable perspectives on specialised national issues.
While Falana has questioned the NBA’s choice of VDM for the security discussion, VDM maintains that his role was to share experiences from his engagement with communities affected by insecurity, rather than present himself as a security expert or legal practitioner.
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