Nigerian blogger and social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, has been rearrested by Nigerian police, just three weeks after his release from custody.

VeryDarkMan’s lawyer, Mr. Deji Adeyanju, revealed on Sunday that his client was detained for exposing an individual accused of defrauding a Nigerian citizen living abroad. In a statement on his X account, Mr. Adeyanju said, “Our client, @thatverydarkman, has just been arrested by the police on the instruction of CP Igwe for exposing someone who allegedly duped a Nigerian abroad. Instead of the police arresting the person alleged to have committed fraud, they arrested VDM on allegations of defamation.”

The arrest order was reportedly issued by Mr. Benneth Igwe, the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.

Earlier this month, on June 10, a Federal High Court in Abuja had granted bail to VeryDarkMan, following his arrest in May. The social media influencer had been charged with five counts of cyberstalking, as reported by SaharaReporters. He was released after meeting his bail conditions.

During the court proceedings, the police prosecution team requested more time to respond to the application. Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court allowed the extension. While the prosecution sought to remand VeryDarkMan in prison, his lawyers successfully argued for him to remain in police custody instead. Consequently, he was held at the National Cybercrime Centre.

This latest arrest has sparked discussions about the role of law enforcement in handling defamation cases versus pursuing allegations of fraud. The situation continues to develop as legal proceedings unfold.