Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has apologised to soldiers, policemen, customs and immigration personnel over his controversial remarks at the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Otse, in a video shared on Friday, said he had reflected on his comments and realised that he was unfair to security personnel who were risking their lives to protect Nigerians.
The activist had, while speaking at the conference, described the military, police, immigration and customs personnel as “unknown gunmen” during a discussion on insecurity.
However, Otse said his comments were not intended to accuse all security personnel of involvement in criminal activities.
“I know exactly what I was trying to say because, I mean, 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 fighting Boko Haram and other security threats in remote areas.
“That speech was not fair, especially to the soldiers that are in the bushes fighting Boko Haram to protect our lands, to protect our lives, and to protect our families.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say they are also the unknown gunmen, to be very honest, because these people have laid down their lives,” he said.
Otse explained that his intention was to draw attention to alleged corruption, information leaks and sabotage by some individuals within the security agencies.
“My speech was entirely to talk about the bad eggs in our security forces, to put attention on the bad eggs, so that the leaders in these security settings will look inward and see that sometimes information are being leaked and their own people are sabotaging them,” he said.
He, however, acknowledged that the manner in which he presented his argument made it appear as though he was generalising.
He subsequently apologised to the Chief of Defence Staff and the leadership of the affected security agencies.
“I really want to apologise for that speech, and I don’t want to discourage your boys. Please extend my apologies to your boys, to the ones that are in the bush protecting our lands,” he said.
Otse also apologised to the police, customs and immigration authorities, as well as families of fallen security personnel.
“To the families of these heroes that might have also felt offended by this speech, knowing fully well that their brother, their sister, their son, their husband fought and died for this country, I am really, really sorry,” he said.
The activist maintained that despite his allegations against some personnel, there were still many committed and honest officers within the security agencies.
He said he was particularly concerned that his comments could discourage soldiers serving in conflict zones.
“Imagine a soldier fighting in the bush and he watches VDM’s video, and he’s like, ‘Ah, VDM is one of us now, unknown gunman.’ That would discourage him, to be honest,” he said.
Otse urged security personnel genuinely protecting the country not to be discouraged by his remarks, assuring them of public support.
“And please don’t be discouraged. We’re there behind you now, and we’ll always support you. You know, and we are part of this thing, security is for all of us,” he said.
He nevertheless maintained his allegations against personnel he accused of sabotage, arms supply and leaking information to terrorists.
“To all of you in the military that are sabotaging and causing deaths to your officers, your days are numbered,” he said.
The apology comes amid controversy surrounding Otse’s appearance at the NBA conference, where his participation and comments attracted criticism.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had criticised the defence of Otse’s participation and called for experienced speakers to handle specialised discussions at the event.
Otse subsequently defended his invitation to the conference and explained why he was invited to speak, before later mocking some of the backlash by appearing in a lawyer’s wig and gown in a video.
His latest apology also follows a separate controversy over his allegation that some police officers at checkpoints allegedly pass information about wealthy travellers to kidnappers.
The police had challenged him to provide evidence for the allegation, while Otse dared the authorities to charge him to court, saying he would present his evidence.
In Friday’s video, however, Otse stressed that his criticism of alleged misconduct was not directed at the security agencies as a whole.
“I actually know more than the people I was trying to communicate with, so it was not really communicated properly,” he said.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to support security personnel genuinely fighting to protect the country.
“And to the patriots, to the heroes, to our fallen heroes that have died to protect this country… I am really, really sorry.
“Keep on fighting for our beloved country. God bless all of you. We Nigerians are with you,” he said.