Social media critic Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has reacted to the recent bench warrant issued for his arrest over alleged defamation of gospel singer Mercy Chinwo.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, issued a bench warrant for VDM’s arrest on Thursday after he failed to appear in court on 5 March.
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Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna ordered the police to arrest and bring him to court. Despite VDM’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, pleading for the warrant’s withdrawal and assuring his client would appear, the magistrate refused and insisted on enforcement.
In a video shared via Instagram on Friday, VDM insisted that the judiciary could not silence him, alleging a conspiracy to suppress his voice.
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“In response to the news that went viral yesterday about the court ordering my arrest—first things first, the judiciary cannot shut me down,” VDM declared.
“Many of you may not know, but there is a plot within the judiciary to silence me. However, I will resist it. Instead, I will expose everyone who is paying money to make this happen. I will expose all those engaging in forum shopping and securing illegal orders—I will expose all of you.”
Judicial Concerns
The media activist further questioned the legitimacy of the legal process, claiming that his arrest order was issued despite his lawyer informing the court that he was outside Nigeria at the time.
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He lamented, “How can one lawyer have six cases before the same magistrate on the same day? On that very same day, the judge ordered my arrest. My lawyer told them I had a case in that court and never missed a hearing. I was in China when they filed this case, yet they still ordered my arrest while I was not even in the country.”
VDM also alleged that another court in Nyanya, Abuja, issued an injunction barring him from discussing Mercy and her former manager, Ezekiel Onyedikachukwu, also known as EeZee Tee.
“Not only that but on the same day my arrest order was issued, another court in Nyanya issued an injunction forbidding me from speaking about Mercy Chinwo and EeZee Tee,” he stated.
“This is the same matter that the magistrate who ordered my arrest had already issued an injunction on. The magistrate in Nyanya, who gave that second injunction, was recently promoted to judge. The affidavit they submitted was so weak—no reasonable person would grant an order based on it.”
Compromised case, unshaken resolve
VDM accused certain judicial officers of being compromised, referencing alleged affiliations between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) prosecutor and Mercy’s husband, Blessed Uzochikwa.
The activist alleged that the judge who previously handled the case followed the gospel on Instagram before reportedly unfollowing her after raising his (VDM) concerns.
VeyDarkMan stated, “It’s not a coincidence to me. To make things worse, the judge initially handled this case—before recusing himself—by following Mercy Chinwo on Instagram. An account registered under his name was following her. After it was exposed, he quickly unfollowed her. But I saw it. This is not a coincidence. There is a misuse of power happening here.”
Despite the bench warrant, the controversial activist reiterated that he remains defiant, vowing to return to Nigeria. “I will come back openly. No one scares me. Nigeria is my country, and I will never leave it for anywhere else in the world. If they plan to arrest me at immigration, that is the worst they can do. But guess what? I will still come out of this case because I know the truth. This case has been compromised from the beginning, and no matter what they do, the truth remains the truth,” he said.
Background
The dispute between Mercy and her former manager, EeZee Tee, began after she left his record label, EeZee Conceptz. Mercy accused him of withholding $345,000 in royalties and creating a toxic work environment, while EeZee Tee denied the claims, insisting she breached their contract by secretly keeping performance fees.
The EFCC initially intervened, detaining EeZee Tee and freezing his accounts, but later withdrew, stating the matter was contractual, not criminal. Both parties are now considering an out-of-court settlement. On 3 March, Mercy’s legal team, led by Pelumi Olajengbesi, filed a ₦1.1 billion defamation lawsuit against VDM at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Despite not being directly involved, they accuse VDM, who waded into the matter online, of spreading false and damaging claims about the duo.
The lawsuit demands N1 billion in general damages, N100 million in punitive damages, and N25 million in legal costs. It also seeks a court order forcing VDM to retract his statements and apologise in four national newspapers for 14 days. Additionally, Mercy’s legal team wants a 10 per cent annual interest on the judgment sum until complete payment.
Mercy’s lawyers argue that between 2 and 17 February, VDM falsely accused her of secretly taking show payments and influencing EeZee Tee’s detention. They describe his claims as “baseless” and harmful to her reputation.
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