Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has launched a blistering attack on Nigeria’s legal profession after some lawyers questioned his invitation to the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
The activist, who appeared on a conference panel on insecurity, later responded to the backlash in a video circulated on Friday. He said he was not at the gathering to impress wig-wearing professionals, but to speak for people who rarely get a seat in such rooms.
“I spoke on behalf of the poor people. I spoke on behalf of the people that don’t have a voice. Because a son of nobody was seen in your midst,” he said.
That invitation had already split the Bar. VeryDarkMan featured on Tuesday in a session titled “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen,” where he shared accounts from communities hit by violence and insisted he was not there to teach lawyers their job.
Read “I’m Not Here To Teach Law!” — VDM Slams Critics, Defends NBA Invite
Some lawyers called him a misfit at an NBA event. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) also faulted the choice, arguing that the panel needed someone with professional security experience rather than turning the conference into what he described as a circus. Others, including former National Human Rights Commission chairman Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, said critics were more bothered by VeryDarkMan’s presence than by deeper problems inside the justice system.
Then came the Friday punchline that set social media on fire.
“This bunch of clowns are telling me that law is a noble profession. Well, lately, law has not been a noble profession. I’m sorry to say. I’m not even sorry to say. It is what it is,” VeryDarkMan said.
He went further, claiming many trained lawyers in Nigeria are jobless or locked out of actual practice.
“Mind you, law is one of the most broke professions we have in the country. Because we never talk about it. Law is one of the most broke professions. One of the poorest professions in this country is law,” he said.
He challenged the profession with a series of questions:
“How many lawyers are there? How many lawyers have jobs? How many lawyers actually go to court? Ask yourself that.”
He also mocked the yearly flood of new wigs from the Nigerian Law School.
“And every year, they say they have people graduating from law school. Four thousand have graduated from law school, only to end up selling bedsheets,” he added.
That last figure is his own claim. Official reports show a much larger class in 2026, with 6,010 new lawyers called to the Bar in July. Whether those numbers translate into decent work is a separate and long-running debate inside the profession itself.
The timing made the remarks even more explosive. VeryDarkMan’s NBA appearance also triggered a police invitation after he alleged that some officers at highway checkpoints tip off kidnappers about wealthy travellers. Police described the claim as unsubstantiated. He has insisted he stands by his words.
Read “Charge Me To Court!” — VDM Dares Police Over Kidnapping Allegations
For an activist who built a massive following by dragging celebrities, politicians and institutions in public, the latest outburst fits a familiar pattern. He presents himself as the loud voice of the streets. Many lawyers see him as an outsider crashing a professional gathering. The clash has now moved from who deserves a microphone at the NBA conference to a harsher question: has the so-called noble profession lost both its prestige?
VeryDarkMan’s answer was blunt. In his telling, too many lawyers are struggling, too many new graduates have nowhere to practise, and the old claim of nobility no longer matches the reality on the ground.