Social media activist, Martins Otse popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM)
Martins Otse, Social media activist popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has called on Nigerian security agencies to adopt a more proactive approach to tackling insecurity across the country.
He made this call during the 2026 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he spoke on the topic, “Known Gun Men.”
He expressed concern over the persistence of insecurity in the country despite the presence of security personnel on major highways.
Otse alleged that security agencies had sufficient knowledge of those behind some criminal activities but were not doing enough to prevent attacks and apprehend perpetrators.
According to him, “Security personnel know where these people are. They know these ‘unknown gunmen’. But nothing is happening. “Unknown gunmen” should not be used to obscure the identities of those responsible for criminal activities.
“There are no unknown gunmen anywhere. The military men are the unknown gunmen, the Immigration, the Customs — they are the unknown gunmen. Nobody else,” he said.
Otse questioned the effectiveness of police checkpoints on major highways, citing the Lagos-Abuja and Lokoja routes as examples of areas where kidnappings still occur despite the presence of security personnel.
He alleged that criminal elements could obtain information about travellers and use such details to identify potential victims.
According to him, the movement of vehicles through checkpoints could provide criminals with information about their occupants.
He said insecurity had also affected the judiciary, referring to the reported abduction of a judge travelling from Sokoto who was kidnapped in Kebbi State on July 26 and released about a week later.
“This is not the topic of ‘if I may, my Lord’, because a lot of your lords are being kidnapped,” he said.
Otse said his views on insecurity were informed by his experiences at scenes of violence, describing himself as a “first respondent” in some affected communities.
“I was the first respondent at Yelwata. I was also the first respondent when some women were killed some time ago,” he said.
“I have seen blood and seen people burnt alive over insecurity issues in his country,” he said.
He also criticised the Nigerian media for what he described as inadequate coverage of violent attacks and their aftermath.
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