Nigerian social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, was arrested by police in Abuja on Friday. His legal representative, Barrister Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the arrest, stating it was at the request of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) following public complaints made by Otse about alleged unauthorized debits from his mother’s bank account.
According to Adeyanju, officers from the Nigeria Police Force apprehended VeryDarkMan at Area 3, Abuja. The arrest followed his viral social media posts accusing GTBank of making repeated deductions from his mother’s account for loans she never obtained.
“My client’s only ‘offense’ was publicly speaking out against suspicious and recurring deductions from his mother’s GTBank account,” Adeyanju told SaharaReporters.
In a widely shared post, VeryDarkMan explained that he and his mother visited a GTBank branch in Abuja to investigate the recurring debits. He shared screenshots showing multiple deductions in the name of loan repayments, which they claim were unauthorized.
“This year alone, she has been debited more than seven times for loans she never took. We’ve requested her bank statement to find out when it all started,” he wrote.
GTBank staff, he added, had initially cooperated with their request.
This incident echoes a similar case reported on April 14, 2025, involving Ariyo Ahmed Adewale, who accused GTBank of facilitating his arrest after he protested the disappearance of ₦2 million from his account.
Adewale claimed that the unauthorized transactions—allegedly made via Jumia, an e-commerce platform he denies ever using—were processed through his debit card. Despite having physical possession of both his phone and debit card, the funds were deducted before he could block the account.
When he visited a GTBank branch in Kosofe, Lagos, seeking clarification and requesting a detailed account statement, he was met with resistance. Police officers from the Alapere station later advised him to lodge a formal complaint and pursue legal action.
Both cases highlight growing concerns among customers regarding account security, unauthorized transactions, and the bank’s response to public complaints.
Saharareporters
