Controversial social media critic Martin Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, has been remanded in police custody pending his next court hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.
Otse appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, facing five counts of cyberstalking involving the Nigeria Police and Nollywood actresses Iyabo Ojo and Tonto Dikeh. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, applied for bail, but the police prosecuting team requested more time to respond. Consequently, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon adjourned the bail hearing to May 29.
The prosecution sought to have Otse remanded in prison, but his lawyers argued successfully for his remand in police custody instead. He was subsequently taken to the National Cybercrime Centre.
The charges against Otse include:
1. Posting a video on October 29, 2023, on his Instagram account
‘verydarkblackman,’ containing offensive and false allegations about Iyabo Ojo’s relationship with her daughter, violating Section 24(1)(a) of the Cybercrime Act.
2. Posting a video on January 19, 2024, falsely accusing Tonto Dikeh of criminal conversion of crowdfunding proceeds and being behind the Gistlover blog, violating Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime Act.
3. Posting a video on March 19, 2024, alleging senior police officers and lawmakers were involved in sexual activities with Bobrisky, violating Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime Act.
4. Posting another video on March 19, 2024, claiming Bobrisky was pimping young boys to senators and senior police officers, violating Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime Act.
Comments