Lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, reacts to Presidential media aide, Bayo Onanuga, calling for legal action against VDM

Lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has reacted to calls by the Presidency for legal action against popular social critic, Martins Vincent Otse, known widely as VeryDarkMan (VDM). 

.....

The reaction follows a statement on X on Wednesday, May 27, by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who accused VDM of being the “conveyor and disseminator” of an audio clip about the president and called for the commentator to face the full weight of the law.

The footage appears to show VeryDarkMan (VDM) playing a purported audio recording of President Bola Tinubu, who allegedly declares a definitive intent to run in the 2027 presidential election regardless of public sentiment. The video also claims that the President urged opposition leader Peter Obi to withdraw from the upcoming 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 in reaction to the footage 

In response, multiple online users and commentators pointed out that the viral clip was the work of mischief-makers who placed an AI-generated voice note on top of a VDM video.

Reacting to the Presidency’s threat, VDM’s lead counsel, Deji Adeyanju, clarified that the circulated video was doctored. Adeyanju condemned the fabrication and strongly called on relevant security and law enforcement authorities to investigate the true source of the manipulated audio and bring the creators to justice.

Read his statement below 

‘’The attention of our client has been drawn to the statement made by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, concerning a doctored audio currently circulating online and falsely attributed to our client, Mr. Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan. A simple verification of our client’s verified social media platforms would have confirmed that he neither made nor shared the said audio. It is therefore surprising that, despite the resources available to the Presidency, adverse comments were made concerning our client without proper verification of the facts. This development further validates our client’s longstanding concerns regarding attempts to cage him by powerful people in government and discredit him on account of his outspoken views on matters of public interest. We accordingly call on the relevant security agencies to investigate the source and circulation of the doctored audio and ensure that those responsible are identified and dealt with in accordance with the law.”