Abuja, Nigeria — Martins Vincent Otse, popular Nigerian social media personality known as VeryDarkMan, fue arrested on Friday by officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja. The arrest followed VeryDarkMan’s public complaints about unauthorized debits from his mother’s account, reportedly ordered by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank).
Barrister Deji Adeyanju, the legal counsel for VeryDarkMan, confirmed the arrest, stating that it was simply for speaking out about suspicious deductions from his mother’s account. “My client was arrested today in Abuja by the Nigerian police. His only offence was speaking out about suspicious and repeated debits from his mother’s GTBank account for loans she never took,” Adeyanju said.
Prior to his arrest, VeryDarkMan took to his social media platforms to voice his frustrations about the ongoing deductions. He revealed that he and his mother recently visited a GTBank branch in Abuja to seek answers and obtain a detailed bank statement.
In his social media post, he highlighted the concerning frequency of the unauthorized deductions: “My mom and I just arrived at GTBank to get an explanation for the constant debit from her account in the name of loan repayments that she never took. We have requested her bank statements so we know when the debiting started. So far, in this year alone, there have been more than seven debits on loan repayments. GTBank staff are cooperating—hopefully, we’ll know why they keep doing this,” he wrote.
The issue is not isolated, as another individual, Ariyo Ahmed Adewale, recently accused GTBank of orchestrating his arrest after he protested unauthorized transactions from his account exceeding ₦2 million. According to Ariyo, he was debited without his permission for purchases linked to the online shopping platform Jumia, which he claims to have never used.
Ariyo stated, “On Saturday, the 7th of last week, I discovered that N2,000,000 had been debited from my GTBank account without my authorisation. As soon as I noticed the transaction, I immediately called GTBank customer care to report the incident and request that my account be blocked. Unfortunately, before they could act, the unauthorized transactions had already increased.”
When he visited a GTBank branch in Lagos to demand a detailed account statement, he faced resistance from bank staff and police. Officers from the Alapere station requested he submit a formal complaint and advised his lawyer to file a petition.
This series of events raises serious concerns about the banking practices of GTBank and the potential repercussions for customers voicing their grievances. VeryDarkMan’s arrest has sparked widespread discussions and outrage on social media, as observers question the legitimacy of the bank’s actions and the treatment of its clients.
