The Nigerian Bar Association has honoured social media influencer Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, with a recognition award at its ongoing 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Otse received the award on Tuesday after taking part as a panellist at the conference, where he spoke about insecurity and other issues affecting the country.
Presenting the award on behalf of the NBA president and members, the moderator thanked Otse for attending the conference and sharing his experiences with participants.
“On behalf of the president and members of the Nigeria Association, I present this award to be here with us and share your own experience. But please, when you are attacked, don’t kill. Report to the police.”
The moderator later invited Otse and other officials for a photograph.
Otse had earlier explained why he was invited, saying he was not at the conference to teach lawyers about law but to share his experiences.
“There has been a lot of debate about why I was invited to this NBA conference. I’m not here to teach you people law; I’m here to share experience,” he said.
During the session, Otse raised concerns about insecurity and criticised the media for what he called poor coverage of killings.
“This is not a topic of ‘may I, my lord’ because your lords are being kidnapped,” he stated, while recalling the reported abduction of a judge travelling from Sokoto State who was allegedly kidnapped in Kebbi State on July 26 and released about a week later.
He also said the media had failed to properly report attacks and killings linked to insecurity.
“When the killings happened, our media are now lazy, and they do not really cover these killings and the results of these unknown gunmen,” he said.
On the June 13, 2025, Yelwata attack in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, Otse said he had personally witnessed the aftermath of violent attacks.
“I was the first respondent at Yelwata. I was also the first respondent when some women were killed some time ago. I’ve seen blood and seen people burnt alive.
“In Yelwata, it was Fulani that attacked. It was a retaliation because a Fulani boy was killed and these guys came back to attack.”
His comments came as proceedings over the Yelwata attack continue.
In February 2026, prosecution witness Moses Paul, a team leader with the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force, told the Federal High Court in Abuja that some disgruntled Fulani chiefs sponsored more than 200 armed men to carry out the attack.
Otse’s appearance at the NBA conference has drawn public attention, with the influencer maintaining that his invitation was based on his experience and advocacy on insecurity, not legal expertise.
