VeryDarkMan re-arraigned for cyberbullying Iyabo Ojo, Tonto Dikeh, others
The Inspector-General (I-G) of Police, on Thursday, re-arraigned controversial social media influencer Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), for allegedly cyberbullying actresses Iyabo Ojo and Tonto Dikeh, among others.
VDM faced Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja on five counts of charges. He pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, requested that VDM be allowed to continue on the bail granted earlier by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of a sister court, which the counsel to the I-G, Victor Okoye, did not object to. The judge subsequently admitted VDM to the earlier bail terms and adjourned the case until July 24 for trial.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), VDM was initially arraigned on May 22, 2024, before Justice Olajuwon on similar charges related to the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act of 2015. After being remanded, he was granted a N10 million bail on June 10, 2024, requiring two sureties who must be employees of reputable companies or Level 17 officers within the federal civil service, along with evidence of three years’ tax clearance.
The charges against him were re-assigned to Justice Liman after Justice Olajuwon’s transfer to another division of the Federal High Court.
In the first count, VDM is accused of intentionally publishing via video on his Instagram handle ‘verydarkblackman’ threatening words against Samuel Oguachuba on Oct. 13, 2023.
The second count accuses him of posting videos containing grossly offensive and indecent information against Iyabo Ojo on Oct 29, 2023, while in the third count, he allegedly falsely published that King Tonto Dikeh was involved in a crowd-funding conversion scandal on Jan. 19, 2024.
Furthermore, in the fourth count, he is alleged to have posted insulting videos on March 19, 2024, against Deputy-Inspector Generals of Police and lawmakers in the National Assembly.
NAN
