‘We'll arraign VDM once we are ready’ - EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed that activist Martin ‘Verydarkman (VDM) Otse will be arraigned in court.

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The anti-graft agency head of media and publicity, Dele Oyewale, revealed this during an interview with News Central, which was posted on Tuesday on the media outlet’s Instagram page.

Mr Oyewale made the revelation eight days after VDM regained his freedom. He had spent six days in the Commission’s custody over alleged financial crimes.

This newspaper reported that VDM was arrested in Abuja by the anti-graft agency’s operatives after he accompanied his mother to a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) branch over continuous deductions from her account.

Mr Oyewale maintained that VDM was a suspect like any other suspect and was arrested following multiple petitions.

Revealing the Commission’s following line of action after VDM’s release, he said: “Now, I think we should appreciate that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission has the right to initiate an investigation into any petition raised against any Nigerian. Now, the issue of Martin Vincent Otse is no exception. Now, we have calls to invite him and arrest him on several petitions before the Commission, and of course, we have asked and interrogated him.

“When he met the conditions, we released him. When his charges are ready, we will file the charges before the court, and he will be arraigned. There are no charges yet. There are processes, and there are procedures. Let’s get to the river before we cross it now. By the time the charges are ready, they are filed before the court, and it’s arranged, it will be a public document, and everybody will see it.”

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Cellphone

When asked about VDM’s cellphone in the Commission’s possession, Mr Oyewale noted, “So, there is no point preempting what is on the ground. When we get to the river, we will cross it. That should not be a matter to be discussed on national television. We have our operational ways of doing things.”

This newspaper reported that VDM alleged that his cellphone was with the Commission during his first video after his release and that they logged him out of his iCloud account.

The activist, who revealed he was arrested and detained on an allegation of money laundering, threatened to sue the Commission if it published his mugshot alongside an alleged ‘money laundering’ charge.