NBA conference: Falana questions invitation of VeryDarkMan as panelist

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has questioned the decision of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to invite social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, as a panelist at its ongoing annual conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Falana made his position known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, arguing that discussions on national security at the NBA conference should have involved individuals with established professional experience in the country’s security architecture.

Otse featured as a panelist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the NBA on Tuesday during a session titled, “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen.”

The social media personality spoke about his experiences reporting insecurity and visiting communities affected by killings and other attacks.

His appearance has since generated debate among lawyers and other commentators, with some questioning the NBA’s choice while others defended the decision.

Reacting to the development, Falana said the NBA had historically used its conferences to expose lawyers to individuals with established expertise and experience.

“In those days, the NBA brought individuals who had paid their dues, who were coming to engage lawyers intellectually. We wanted to learn from them and so none of our conferences was a circus show in the past,” he said.

The human rights lawyer argued that individuals invited to speak on national security should have made demonstrable contributions to the sector.

“So, if you are bringing in an expert to discuss the security of the country, either from the private or public sector, such an individual must have contributed to the security architecture of the country,” Falana said.

“But when you bring people who have nothing to do with the security of the country, there are problems.”

Falana further likened the decision to inviting someone without relevant professional experience to address journalists on press freedom.

“It’s like talking about media freedom, press freedom. You are going to bring practitioners in that field, either in academics or in the newsroom,” he said.

“But to just go and bring somebody from nowhere to come and entertain you, there are problems with that.”

During the panel discussion, Otse alleged that some police officers stationed at checkpoints along major highways identify wealthy travellers and pass information about their identities and movements to kidnappers.

He claimed that such information was subsequently used to facilitate abductions for ransom.

The Nigeria Police Force has rejected the allegation, describing it as unsubstantiated and potentially damaging to the reputation of the institution.

The police challenged Otse to provide evidence to substantiate his claim, saying any credible information supplied would be investigated.