Social media influencer and activist Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, used his appearance at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt to issue a stark warning about rising insecurity and its impact on the judiciary.

Speaking as a panellist, Otse addressed controversy over his invitation to the gathering of legal professionals, stressing that he was not there to lecture lawyers on the law but to share first-hand experience from Nigeria’s frontlines of violence.

“There has been a lot of debate about why I was invited to this NBA conference. I’m not here to teach you people law; I’m here to share experience,” he told the audience, arguing that insecurity has become so pervasive that it now directly threatens judges and the justice system itself.

He referenced the abduction of a judge travelling from Sokoto who was reportedly kidnapped in Kebbi and held for about a week, using the incident to illustrate how criminal gangs have grown bold enough to target members of the bench. “This is not a topic of ‘may I, my lord’ because your lords are being kidnapped,” he said.

Otse also criticised what he described as the media’s inadequate coverage of mass killings and rural attacks, accusing news organisations of failing to sustain attention on atrocities carried out by armed groups. “When the killings happened, our media are now lazy, and they do not really cover these killings and the results of these unknown gunmen,” he lamented.

Drawing on his work documenting violence, he recounted his experience at Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where an attack left scores dead and homes destroyed. “I was the first respondent at Yelwata. I was also the first respondent when some women were killed some time ago. I’ve seen blood and seen people burnt alive,” he said.

He alleged that the Yelwata assault was a retaliatory strike linked to tensions between local communities and Fulani groups. His account aligns with testimony given by police intelligence officer Moses Paul at the Federal High Court in Abuja, who told the court that disgruntled Fulani chiefs allegedly sponsored more than 200 armed men with AK-47 rifles to carry out the attack.

Otse urged legal practitioners to move beyond courtroom debates and confront the realities of insecurity, insisting that the survival of the justice system depends on restoring safety for citizens and judges alike.