Shame On All Of You That Made VDM Last Hope Of Common Man – Dele Farotimi

Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi has claimed that the growing influence of social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), reflects the failure of Nigeria’s judicial system

Naija News reports that Farotimi spoke in a video shared on YouTube on Saturday.

He argued that individuals such as VDM would not be tolerated in a society with a functional police and judicial system.

Farotimi was reacting to the controversy surrounding the VDM’s invitation to the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.

“A society that has law and order, that is ruled by law, that has a functional police system, a functional court system, would not even tolerate the presence or existence of a VDM. VDM is the life indictment of a judicial system that is essentially peopled by crooks in the place of jurists. That’s what VDM is.

“It represents a type, a type that has been tolerated, mollified because of the failure of the system,” he said.

He likened VeryDarkMan to a mirror reflecting the failures of Nigerian society, saying attacking the activist would not solve the problems responsible for his growing influence.

“The reality is that you are the one who has to do something to fix the image in the mirror. VDM is merely the image in your mirror. The society you have built requires VDM to find justice.

“It’s easier to find justice through the types and likes of VDM than through your courts. They say the judiciary is the last hope of the common man. Nah, lie.

“VDM has become the last hope of the common man in the society that you built. Shame on all of you. And not just the lawyers or the judges, but the entire society that has made this possible,” he asserted.

Farotimi warned that more personalities like VeryDarkMan could emerge if the judiciary and other institutions failed to address Nigerians’ grievances.

“The society you built requires VDM to do justice. Very soon there will be multiplicities of VDM in the society that you have built. And if you have not noticed, there are already copycat VDMs springing up.

“Because the society requires VDM to find justice. How much of a shameful society have we built? Or shall I say shameless society?”

He described VeryDarkMan’s emergence as a warning sign of the breakdown of the country’s institutions.

“If the courts are useless, the VDMs of this world will emerge. And if you think VDM is the end of it, that’s the best you’re going to get. The ones who will come after, some of them will come behind him, and they will carry guns to enforce their laws.”

Farotimi urged Nigerians to examine the state of the country’s justice system instead of focusing solely on VeryDarkMan’s activities.