The police have recently re-arraigned social critic Martins Otse, aka VeryDarkMan (VDM), for allegedly cyberbullying actresses Tonto Dikeh and Iyabo Ojo and some others.
The police also accused VDM of cyberbullying famous Nigerian producer and singer Samuel Oguachuba, also known as Samklef, among others.
VDM was re-arraigned on Thursday before Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory on a five-count charge.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
His lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, prayed the court to allow VDM to continue on the earlier bail granted by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of a sister court.
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Counsel to the IGP, Victor Okoye, did not object, and the judge admitted him to the earlier bail terms and adjourned the matter until July 24 for trial.
VDM was arraigned on May 22, 2024, arraigned before Justice Olajuwon on the same offences, which are punishable under Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.
On June 10, 2024, he was granted a N10 million bail, with two sureties who must be employees of reputable companies or Level 17 officers in a federal civil service with evidence of three years’ tax clearance.
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Just last week, VDM was released from EFCC custody after five days of detention.
His release was announced on Wednesday, May 7th by former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, via his X handle.
VeryDarkMan’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, also confirmed the release on Wednesday via a post on X, expressing gratitude to Nigerians and various public figures who spoke up in support.
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Adeyanju had earlier expressed frustration over the EFCC’s handling of the bail process, describing it as “social media bail” since the commission had not issued formal bail documents despite announcing that his client had been granted administrative bail.
“Bail granted VDM, social media bail, as we are yet to receive any bail document from the commission. We have made several repeated demands in this regard since yesterday, when we were informed about the decision to grant bail,” Adeyanju said.
READ MORE: EFCC Finally Reveals Why They Arrested VDM
The EFCC, in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, confirmed on Tuesday that VeryDarkMan had been granted bail but remained in custody pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.
According to the commission, the activist was invited for questioning over multiple petitions alleging serious financial crimes.
He was arrested after allegedly ignoring repeated invitations sent to his known addresses and communication channels.
