Social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, known as Verydarkman or VDM, wasted no time upon returning to Nigeria. After touching down at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, he immediately mobilized a mass demonstration against the nation’s escalating security crisis.
VDM spearheaded his Ratel Movement to the Nigerian Air Force Base in the capital, where chants of “Tinubu must go, APC must go, bandits must go, terrorists must go” echoed through the streets. A video clip capturing the protest quickly went viral on social media.
A vocal critic of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, VDM has been outspoken about the recent surge in kidnappings and killings across the country. While he was in China, he declared the Tinubu government incompetent and urged Nigerians to vote the president and the All Progressives Congress (APC) out in the 2027 elections.
Before his arrival, VDM had raised alarms about an alleged plot by authorities to detain him, fueling tension among his supporters. Despite those fears, hundreds of Ratel Movement members gathered at the airport to welcome him, and the protest proceeded without incident.