Nigerian social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), was arrested on May 2, 2025, at a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) branch in Abuja.
The arrest occurred after VDM accompanied his mother to the bank to address repeated unauthorised deductions from her account for loan repayments she never initiated.
According to his legal counsel, Deji Adeyanju, the arrest was reportedly ordered by GTBank following VDM’s public complaints about the issue.
VDM had previously taken to social media to highlight the unauthorised debits, stating that his mother’s account had been debited multiple times for loans she did not take.
He and his mother visited the bank to obtain her account statements and seek clarification.
However, the social media activist was arrested outside the bank premises by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media, with supporters launching campaigns urging Nigerians to boycott GTBank.
Hashtags such as #FreeVDM and #BoycottGTBank trended across various platforms, and some customers reportedly closed their accounts in protest.
As of the time of this report, neither GTBank nor the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has issued an official statement regarding the arrest.
The development has raised concerns about customer rights and the handling of complaints by financial institutions in Nigeria.
