The Nigerian police have released the detained social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
The police initially refused to release him on Sunday, blaming it on Easter break.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that VeryDarkMan was supposed to regain his freedom on Easter Day but the police claimed there were no personnel available to process his release due to the Easter celebration.
A source privy to the matter told SaharaReporters earlier on Sunday that even though the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr Solomon Arase had said the lawyers representing the social media influencer could go and get him, the Investigating Police Officers initially met on duty said there was no instruction to that effect.
SaharaReporters later learnt that the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Force Criminal of Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja, Mr Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, said the lawyers could return on Tuesday to get their client.
“I heard that the IPOs the lawyers initially met said they had not received any instruction to release VeryDarkMan but later when they were able to reach DIG Alabi, he said there was no one available to process the release because of the Easter break.
“So he asked them to come back for VeryDarkMan on Tuesday after the Easter break is over,” the source said.
However, after SaharaReporters’ report, the police released the social media influencer.
#RevolutionNow convener on Sunday evening posted, “Good news on Easter Sunday! @thatverydarkman is now free! Thanks for all your efforts to ensure oppression will not always win! #RevolutionNow.”
SaharaReporters had reported that VeryDarkMan was arrested by the police over claims that they had received a series of petitions against his conduct online.
The socialite had shared a video where he alleged that controversial cross-dresser Bobrisky was sleeping with many Nigerian lawmakers and police chiefs.
He said Bobrisky would have been arrested for openly claiming to be gay and being a trans woman if not that the socialite was sleeping with lawmakers and top police chiefs.
He said, “Make dem start by arresting Bobrisky. The lawmakers wey put this law, make dem first arrest Bobrisky because we watched Bobrisky from being a man, e turn woman for our eye like this. E do breast, e do yansh, e dey wear wig, e dey go party, e dey do everything, nobody arrest am. (They should start by arresting Bobrisky. The lawmakers who made the law should first arrest Bobrisky because we watched Bobrisky, a man, turned to a woman. He did surgeries to turn himself into a woman and no one has arrested him).”
