Lawyer Deji Adeyanju has reacted to calls from the Presidency for legal action against social critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).
The reaction follows a statement posted on X on Wednesday, May 27, by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who accused VDM of being the “conveyor and disseminator” of an audio clip allegedly linked to the President and called for him to face the full weight of the law.
The footage in question appears to show VDM playing a purported audio recording of President Bola Tinubu, in which the President allegedly expresses a firm intention to contest the 2027 presidential election regardless of public opinion, and reportedly urges opposition leader Peter Obi to step down from the race.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform,” Onanuga wrote while reacting to the video.
However, several online users and commentators have argued that the viral clip was manipulated, alleging that an AI-generated voice was superimposed on an unrelated VDM video.
Responding to the Presidency’s threat, Adeyanju, who serves as VDM’s lead counsel, clarified that the circulating video was doctored. He condemned the fabrication and called on relevant security and law enforcement agencies to investigate the true origin of the manipulated audio and ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
