VeryDarkMan Apologises To Security Agencies Over ‘Unknown Gunmen’ Remark

Social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has apologised to members of the military, police, customs and immigration services over his controversial description of security personnel as “unknown gunmen” during the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

VeryDarkMan tendered the apology in a video released on Friday, saying he had reflected on his remarks and realised that his comments were unfair to security personnel who were risking their lives to protect Nigerians.

The activist had, while speaking at the NBA conference, referred to the military, police, immigration and customs personnel as “unknown gunmen” during a discussion on insecurity in the country.

However, in his latest video, he clarified that his remarks were not intended to accuse all security personnel of involvement in criminal activities.

“I don’t think I was fair to a lot of people, particularly the speech where I said that the military are the unknown gunmen, the police are the unknown gunmen, you know, the immigration, the customs,” he said.

According to him, although he had evidence to support the concerns he was raising, he admitted that the manner in which he presented his argument amounted to a generalisation.

“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.

VeryDarkMan expressed particular concern about soldiers deployed to remote areas to combat Boko Haram insurgents and other security threats, stressing that such personnel should not be portrayed as criminals.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

The activist explained that his intention was to draw attention to alleged corruption, information leaks and sabotage by some individuals within the security agencies, rather than undermine the work of personnel genuinely committed to protecting the country.

“My speech was not to discourage you,” he said, urging the leadership of the various security agencies to investigate what he described as the activities of “bad eggs” within their ranks.

VeryDarkMan also apologised to the Chief of Defence Staff and urged him to extend the apology to soldiers serving in the bush.

“So I will go further to say to the Chief of Defence Staff, Sir, I really want to apologise for that speech, and I don’t want to discourage your boys,” he said.

He similarly apologised to the police, customs and immigration authorities, as well as families of security personnel who may have been offended by his remarks, particularly relatives of officers and soldiers who died in the line of duty.

“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.

Despite the apology, VeryDarkMan maintained that there were individuals involved in corrupt practices within some security agencies, but stressed that this did not mean all personnel were guilty.

“Yes, a lot of bad eggs there, like I said, a lot of bad eggs, a lot of them are there,” he said.

He added that many security personnel remained dedicated to their duties and warned that careless generalisations could demoralise officers and soldiers risking their lives in the fight against insurgency.

“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.

The activist further disclosed that his interactions with some police officers had exposed him to the challenges confronting the force, adding that he occasionally shares security-related information with officers to assist them in responding to incidents.

He therefore appealed to security personnel genuinely committed to protecting Nigerians not to be discouraged by his earlier remarks.

“And please don’t be discouraged, please, please, don’t be discouraged,” VeryDarkMan said.