The legal team representing social critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has responded to calls by the presidency for the activist to face prosecution over a viral video containing a controversial audio recording of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The controversy erupted when Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, used his official X handle to demand immediate legal action against the commentator for allegedly spreading deepfake material.
The disputed video featured an audio recording purporting to show President Tinubu declaring a resolute intention to run for a second term in 2027 regardless of public opinion, while allegedly demanding that opposition leader Peter Obi step down from the race. Onanuga strongly condemned the broadcast, stating that VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio, which he labeled an egregious abuse of social media platforms. Following the presidential aide’s public statement, numerous internet users pointed out that the audio bore clear hallmarks of artificial intelligence generation.
In swift defense of his client, human rights lawyer and VDM’s legal counsel, Deji Adeyanju, issued a counter-statement clarifying that the footage had been heavily doctored and manipulated to frame the social critic. Rather than prosecuting his client, Adeyanju called on Nigeria’s security and cybercrime authorities to look in a different direction. He urged relevant agencies to launch a thorough investigation into the original creators and distributors who initially manufactured and circulated the deepfake audio, insisting that the true masterminds behind the synthetic media are the ones who should be brought to justice.