The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday evening detained social media influencer, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
Although VDM’s offence was not known at the time of filing this report, his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, said he was detained after honouring a police invitation.
In a post on X on Thursday, Adeyanju disclosed that his client had honoured a similar invitation on Wednesday.
His post read, “Our client, VDM, has been detained after honouring a police invitation just like yesterday. VDM has been consistent in stating that the Nigerian Police are our friends, even when we all know they are not.”
SaharaReporters had reported that VeryDarkMan tendered a public apology to the Nigeria Police Force for using police uniform in a viral video where he described himself as a CSP of an online division.
VeryDarkMan made the apology in a post and video he posted on his X account after he was grilled by the Nigerian police on Wednesday for alleged impersonation.
The social media influencer professed unawareness of the protocol, stating he didn’t know police permission was required to wear police uniforms or other similar ones.
He, therefore, cautioned fellow content creators to obtain necessary clearance from law enforcement before using similar uniforms for content purposes.
SaharaReporters had also reported that the Nigeria Police Force strongly condemned the unauthorised use of official uniforms and accouterments by content creators, while referring to VeryDarkMan’s case.
The police in a statement on Saturday reminded Nigerians that unauthorised use of police uniforms, insignia, or accoutrements constitutes a criminal offence.
While it said that an investigation into VeryDarkMan’s video had been launched to determine the source of the police gear used, as well as the authority under which he acted, the Force disassociated itself from the unauthorised portrayal.
Also, in 2022, the police expressed concerns over individuals, movie makers, and skit makers using police uniforms and accoutrements without approval.