An image of an athletic looking man representing controversial. He has just revealed that his claim that money was stolen from his NGO's account was a hoax. That has made some fans to say VDM 'stole the NGO's money, just to prank Nigerians.
Nigerians suggest VDM ‘stole’ the NGO’s money, after he revealed that his earlier claim of N160m missing from the account was a hoax.
In a stunning twist, popular Nigerian social critic Martins Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has addressed the controversy surrounding his NGO’s missing funds. In a video shared on Tuesday, VDM said the money from his charity was not missing. According to him, his earlier claim that N160 million was removed from the NGO’s account was a “prank” on Nigerians.

It all began a few days back, when VDM took to Instagram to announce that his NGO’s account had been hacked. He claimed a whopping N160 million was stolen, and that another N20 million had been moved to an unknown account. The story sent shockwaves across social media. Fans, tech experts, and critics quickly jumped in, with many questioning how such a large sum could vanish without a trace.

The public response was mixed. Some fans were quick to offer sympathy, while others, including tech experts, expressed doubt. “How can someone hack such a huge amount and not leave a trace?” asked one Twitter user. “This smells like a publicity stunt,” another commented.

Tech experts suggested that a more thorough investigation was necessary, given the nature of such transactions. However, no solid evidence of a hack ever surfaced, which led to increasing suspicions.

It’s a prank…

In his latest video, VDM dropped a bombshell: there was no missing money. “No money is missing, my money is secured,” he declared with confidence. He went on to express his frustration at Nigerians for blindly believing rumours. “The way people are so excited about bad news is sad,” VDM said.

He added that he had instructed his website manager to shut down the site, hinting that the entire situation had been an elaborate setup. “I told my website guy to shut the website, let’s use these people to catch cruise,” he laughed, seemingly unfazed by the storm he had caused.

He backed his claim that the money was intact with details of account statement from Zenith Bank.

Fans react: So, VDM ‘stole’ NGO’s money?

While some fans defended VDM, others felt betrayed. “So it was all a joke? You ‘stole’ the NGO money just to prank us?” one Twitter user wrote. Many began questioning whether the whole scenario was a cover-up, suddenly realising  that the NGO’s account had never really been hacked.

“You can’t play with people’s emotions like this. It’s no longer a prank. It feels like a scam,” another fan commented, disappointed by the turn of events. “If he kept the money all along but told us that it was stolen, that means VDM ‘stole’ the NGO’s money. It means he ‘hacked’ the account,” observed another social media user.

Others weren’t as critical. “I respect VDM for his honesty,” one supporter said. “He showed Nigerians how quick they are to jump to conclusions without evidence.”

Critics argue that his recent revelations point to a larger manipulation of public perception. Some even believe he orchestrated the entire drama to generate buzz for his name and cause.

However, VDM stands by his claims, asserting that the situation was simply a “social experiment” to test how Nigerians react to misinformation. “Nobody bothered to ask for evidence. They just went with what was said,” he remarked, seemingly proud of the reaction his stunt sparked.

By Eddy Okechukwu

Mr Eddy Okechukwu is a dynamic young journalist whose interest covers crime reporting and politics. He has eight years of uninterrupted practice spanning some major online publications in Nigeria, Okechukwu specifically has bias for Law issues and the courts.

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