‘We’ll arraign VDM once we are ready’ – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced plans to arraign activist Martin ‘Verydarkman’ (VDM) Otse in court. Dele Oyewale, head of media and publicity at the anti-graft agency, made the disclosure during an interview with News Central—which was later shared on the outlet’s Instagram page on Tuesday.

This statement comes eight days after VDM was released from EFCC custody, where he had spent six days being held over suspicions of financial misconduct. Earlier reports indicated that VDM was detained in Abuja by EFCC operatives while he was accompanying his mother to a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) branch, following multiple complaints concerning repeated deductions from her account.

Oyewale emphasized that VDM, like any other suspect, was detained based on several petitions submitted to the commission. He explained that the EFCC reserves the right to investigate any complaint against a Nigerian citizen, and VDM’s case is no exception. “Once the requisite conditions were met, we released him. When the charges are finalized, they will be formally filed in court, and he will be arraigned. At this moment, there are no formal charges; we are strictly adhering to our procedures,” Oyewale said.

Regarding the issue of VDM’s cellphone—which is currently in EFCC possession—Oyewale declined to comment further, noting that operational protocols are in place to handle such matters internally.

In a separate development, it was reported that VDM claimed his cellphone was seized during his initial video release after detention and that the commission subsequently logged him out of his iCloud account. The activist, who has been vocal about his arrest on allegations of money laundering, has warned he will consider legal action if the commission decides to publish his mugshot alongside any alleged money laundering charges.