Popular activist and social critic, Martins Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan, has been thrown into a difficult situation over his claim that the sum of N180 million that was donated to his non-governmental organisation by kind-hearted Nigerians has been diverted.
He raised the alarm over the hacking of his NGO account, resulting in the diversion of N180 million, explaining how he later recovered the sum of N20 million from the missing money.
In a video shared on his verified Instagram account last Friday, VDM disclosed that the incident had left him distraught over the past few days.
The social media commentator who is notoriously known for holding Nigerians to account claimed that the funds were stolen after hackers allegedly gained access to the NGO’s website.
He said the compromised account initially held N180 million, but now retains only N20 million.
VDM disclosed that law enforcement agencies had tracked one of the suspects, leading to an arrest, informing his fans that he was on his way to Jos to track other suspects as he expressed optimism about recovering the money.
To address the situation, he stated that the NGO’s app had been temporarily shut down for maintenance to prevent further vulnerabilities, saying he had not been himself.
Investors King had reported that VDM launched his NGO in October 2024. The development gained significant attention after raising over N21 million within 24 hours of its inception.
He had stated that the initiative was aimed at transforming Nigeria’s public education system and attracted support from prominent figures, including music producer Don Jazzy who donated the sum of N100 million to the NGO.
But, VDM has been battling serious criticism from members of the public, especially on social media as many Nigerians suspected that he might have some other explanations for the disappearance of the money.
This public backlash is coming as the Federal Capital Territory Police Command stated on Saturday that it is not aware of the alleged disappearance of the ₦180 million from the account of VDM’s Non-Governmental Organisation.
According to the FCT Police Command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the command was not involved in the matter and neither is it investigating it, contrary to the claim by the social critic that some police officers were tracking the suspects.
This development further reinforced scepticism, as many others question the credibility of VDM’s explanation.
However, VDM, in a post on his Instagram account, denied having anything to do with the diversion of the money, saying, his parents did not raise him to covet what does not belong to him.
