VeryDarkMan (VDM) was invited to speak at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt. Critics have questioned why a non-lawyer and social media activist was given a platform at a gathering of legal professionals, especially on matters touching national security.
Professor Chidi Odinkalu, a Nigerian human rights activist and lawyer, explained the reason for inviting non-lawyers to the NBA’s Annual General Conference. He framed it as customer feedback.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana expressed his disappointment in an interview with Sunrise on Channels Television. While others defended the move, VDM fired back with characteristic intensity. 
SEE ALSO: VDM Responds to Police Invitation, Says He Will Present Evidence in Court
Falana’s Critique
Femi Falana pushed back, insisting that invitations to discuss national security demand security experts.
“If we are talking of justice delivery in the country, it would have been okay to want to hear from the public. But if you are talking about the security of the country, it does require that you bring people who are involved in maintaining the security of the country, or who are victims of abduction and the rest of them.”
“When you bring people who have nothing to do with the security of the country, they are problems.” He was blunt about the invitation of VDM, saying it was wrong to “go and bring somebody from nowhere to entertain.” He added.
VDM’s Response to Femi Falana’s Submission
VeryDarkMan, in a video in response to Femi Falana’s views, said he was disappointed at first, then understood why many were upset by the invitation.
“He said something. He said, ‘You just couldn’t bring somebody from nowhere.’ And that is the problem. The problem is that the son of a nobody was invited. That is just simply what is… Who knows him? What’s his family name? Like, what do they have? What business do they have? What empire do they have? The problem these people have is that the son of a nobody was invited to come and speak where elites are seated.”
VDM called it classism masked as concern for expertise.
“You know, this has been the problem. Classism. It’s a bunch of classists.” Critics, he argued, hide behind the demand for a “security expert” while ignoring the failures of those already in the system. He pointed to advice that rehabilitated Boko Haram members should be returned to society after killing millions, asking what kind of expertise that represented. “You’re masking your hypocrisy,” he said. “What expert are we talking about?”
He listed his own ‘qualifications’ explaining why he believed he was invited.
“Lately, in the last few years, I have been present where all these things have happened. I have seen things experts have not seen. This is not about book… Security is for everybody. Security is not for some set of people.”
VDM said he spoke for the poor and voiceless in the presence of those who needed to hear it. The anger, he insisted, was because “the son of a nobody” did so.
Law Has Not Been a Noble Profession
VeryDarkMan turned the critique of the legal profession back on its defenders. He acknowledged that law is a noble profession and then rejected the claim almost immediately.
“Law has not been a noble profession. I’m sorry to say… When people want justice, what do they call? They call Very Dark Man… People no longer believe in the justice system of this country. They believe in Very Dark Man type of justice. Are you not ashamed?”
He highlighted rich men buying judgments and ordinary people who no longer trust the courts. VeryDarkMan claimed to have delivered more practical justice than many of the lawyers criticizing him:
“I have won more cases, given people justice, more than most of you put together. Should I start telling you how much I’ve recovered?”
“What have you stood up for in Nigeria? What have you stood up for? At least I can place what I have done… Never stolen before. I’ve never defrauded anybody before… I’m trying in my own little way to make it better,” he added.
VDM closed by questioning why the police elevated the controversy.
“I don’t know why the police carried that matter for head. It’s even a shame for them, because there’s nobody that promoted the Nigerian police more than me in this country.”
“I speak up every time for the police… these people are not treated fairly, and they cannot properly do this job if we don’t do their welfare, if we don’t take care of them properly.”
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