Social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has hit back at critics of his appearance at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference with a satirical video showing him dressed as a lawyer, complete with a wig, gown and white neck tabs.
VeryDarkMan posted the roughly three-and-a-half-minute clip on Instagram on Friday, staging a mock courtroom scene in which he cast himself as a barrister addressing his detractors directly.
The performance follows the controversy over his participation in the NBA conference, themed “Be Your Limit,” where several lawyers and other Nigerians questioned why a non-lawyer was invited to address legal professionals.
VeryDarkMan has insisted that his invitation was justified by his advocacy work and experience on insecurity, a defence he repeated in the new video.
“If I may, my lords, since you people decided to ignore all the points I raised at the NBA, all the points I raised about the insecurity, the people benefiting, you people decided to distract yourself by judging me and saying I was not fit to be there because I’m not a lawyer,” he said.
He went further, declaring, “I’ve been called to bar. So now, you are now my learned colleagues.”
Citing what he called “section 343 of the VDM constitution,” VeryDarkMan added, “he who price must pay. And if you play, you go and learn.”
Turning to the criticism head-on, he said, “A large majority of Nigerians believe that I was not supposed to be present at this year’s NBA conference titled Be Your Limit. But my lord, I beg to differ because I am the most qualified, especially because of the topic that was addressed.” He then jokingly rebranded the conference theme as “Non-gun man,” a nod to his past commentary on insecurity and firearms.
Two other men appeared alongside him in the skit, introduced as his “learned friends,” as the mock courtroom act continued.
In one exchange, VeryDarkMan pretended to reject a case brought by a man claiming to have been wrongly profiled.
“My lord, I am here to say I will not be representing this madman in court because how can you be looking like this? And you come and meet a noble man like me to represent you,” he said.