Activism vs. Slander: APC Leader Challenges Accusations by VeryDarkMan

ABUJA — Martin Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, is a social media influencer. He has been cautioned by Blessing Agbomhere, the South South Zonal Organizing Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, or APC, to distinguish between character assassination and activism.

Agbomhere also instructed VeryDarkMan to immediately offer Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, an unconditional apology for what he described as an unjustified and defamatory verbal attack against Akpabio for leading a five-member federal government delegation to Pope Francis's funeral in the Vatican last Saturday.

In a social media video that went viral for three minutes, VeryDarkMan called Akpabio's trip to Rome "shameful," claiming that the Senate President had no moral authority to attend the Pope's funeral when he could have spent that time visiting states like Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Ogun, and Enugu, which are currently being attacked by roving herdsmen and have killed countless innocent Nigerians.

The APC's South South Zonal Organizing Secretary, however, warned VeryDarkMan in a statement released on Sunday to stop "slandering law-abiding and critical stakeholders in project Nigeria, all in the name of activism."

"This person, known as VeryDarkMan, is now notorious for blackmail, slander, and character assassination while posing as an advocate for the masses and social crusader," the statement claims.

This time, the unjustified verbal assault on the Senate President is directed at the third-ranking Nigerian citizen, who was duly nominated by President Bola Tinubu to head a powerful five-member delegation to represent Nigeria at the Pope's funeral but chose not to travel to Rome. What specifically is incorrect with that?

"As a devoted Catholic and a man of integrity, President Tinubu immediately identified in Akpabio a fitting representative of Nigeria at events like the Pope's funeral and pushed that duty onto him.

"What is wrong with the Nigerian delegation led by Akpabio joining the rest of the world in mourning the death of the Head of the Catholic Church, just as the Scriptures exhort Christians to rejoice with those who rejoice and to grieve with those who are grieving?

"With this declaration, I am giving VeryDarkMan a one-week ultimatum to immediately apologize to the Senate President for the defamatory remarks and to stop further damaging the reputation of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration in the eyes of the world community."

Nigerians should disregard what he called "the uninformed ranting" of VeryDarkMan, Agbomhere said, adding that the current government is diligently addressing the widespread insecurity that the country has inherited from past administrations.

President Tinubu met with security chiefs after returning from France and the UK, and he gave them directives to make sure a new strategy is used to combat instability.

"Does this man seem unconcerned about safeguarding Nigerians' lives and property? Keep in mind that the country's complicated security issues cannot be solved quickly; it takes time to bring about some semblance of peace, which is what the Tinubu-led administration promised Nigerians when it took office and is still working to accomplish," the statement said.