Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) over its decision to invite social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to speak at its ongoing annual conference in Port Harcourt.
Falana questioned the choice of VDM as a panellist for a session focused on Nigeria’s worsening security situation, arguing that discussions of national security should involve individuals with established professional experience in the field.
VDM featured on Tuesday at a panel session titled “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen,” where he spoke about his experiences documenting insecurity and visiting communities affected by killings and violent attacks.
However, appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Falana said the NBA had previously maintained a higher professional standard in selecting speakers for its conferences.
“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 said.
Knowledge Or Experience
The lawyer argued that anyone invited to speak on the security of the country should have demonstrable knowledge or experience in Nigeria’s security architecture.
“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 said.
“But when you bring people who have nothing to do with the security of the country, there are problems.”
Falana drew a comparison with other specialised areas, saying professional expertise should similarly determine who is invited to address issues such as press freedom.
“It’s like talking about media freedom, press freedom. You are going to bring practitioners in that field, either in academics or in the newsroom,” he said.
“But to just go and bring somebody from nowhere to come and entertain you, there are problems with that. And I think that was the problem associated with that particular lecturer, I mean an individual.”
VDM’s Controversial Claims
The criticism comes days after VDM’s appearance before a gathering of lawyers generated controversy over the issues he raised during the session.
While discussing insecurity, the activist alleged that some police officers stationed at checkpoints along major highways identify wealthy travellers and allegedly pass information about their identities and movements to kidnappers.
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He claimed such information was sometimes used to facilitate abductions for ransom.
The allegation has since drawn the attention of the Nigeria Police Force, which invited VDM to provide evidence supporting his claims.
VDM subsequently maintained that he stood by his comments and said he would present his evidence in court if criminal proceedings were brought against him.
The controversy has now opened a wider debate over the role of social media personalities in formal public discourse — particularly when issues of national security, policing and the justice system are involved.
For Falana, the issue is not simply about VDM himself, but about the responsibility of the NBA to ensure that its platforms are used for informed and professional engagement on matters of national importance.