{"id":22576,"date":"2025-05-06T12:56:27","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=22576"},"modified":"2025-05-06T12:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:56:29","slug":"viral-efcc-mugshot-of-vdm-manipulated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/viral-efcc-mugshot-of-vdm-manipulated\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral EFCC mugshot of VDM, manipulated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: Viral EFCC mugshot of VeryDarkMan shows charges brought against him.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: False. Our findings reveal that the viral mugshot was manipulated.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social media went agog on May 2, 2025, when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested self-acclaimed activist, Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), at a Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) branch in Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following his arrest, Facebook blogs like Jerry Wife TV<\/a> (archived here<\/a>) and Ochuole Updates<\/a> started sharing a mugshot of VDM posing with an arrest placard. The placard showed his name, the alleged charges against him, and a date. The placard alleged that VDM was arrested for \u201cAlleged case of cyberstalking and ML.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image also appeared on X, as seen here<\/a> (archived here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This image has generated a debate, with users like Chigozie Ike saying VDM has started experiencing \u201ckarma\u201d for his activism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Adeniyi Awoniyi, another Facebook user, questioned this image’s authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the comment section, Adeniyi wrote, \u201cEverybody has become a blogger posting fake information and fake news. When they are arrested, they will be looking for supporters who will be protesting for them to be released. Mind what you post.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot of the mugshot in circulation. Photo source: Facebook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA conducted this verification due to the ongoing controversies surrounding VDM\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA observed several red flags at a glance. First, VDM was smiling, a rather unusual expression for someone held in custody for days. Second, his name was wrongly spelt on the placard. It was spelt as \u201cMartin Vicent Otse\u201d instead of \u201cMartins Vincent Otse.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image also appeared blurry, a common characteristic of manipulated visuals. Most doctored images lose metadata during editing, resulting in reduced image quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from these, a quick check on the EFCC\u2019s social media handles shows that the commission did not post this image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We subjected the image to Fake Image Detector<\/a>, a tool for analysing manipulated images. The result indicated that the image was either generated or modified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Result from Fake Image Detector<\/a>\u2019s analysis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, we conducted a keyword search on Google, which revealed a version of the image, featuring VDM\u2019s outfit and the same window background, on a Facebook parody profile<\/a>. Using that as a reference, we performed a reverse image search, which led us to VDM\u2019s Instagram profile. There, we found the original version of the photo<\/a>, along with a video, posted on December 26, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The original version of the image in circulation. Photo source: VDM Instagram account.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a statement<\/a> shared by the EFCC on May 6, 2025, the EFCC said they had previously invited VDM over multiple petitions on \u201calleged financial crimes\u201d but he failed to honour the invitations. The EFCC also noted he was lawfully arrested and detained with a valid remand order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EFCC should be allowed to do its job without fear or favour. As soon as investigations are concluded, charges will be filed,\u201d a part of the statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot of EFCC\u2019s Statement on X.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our findings show that the circulating mugshot of VDM was manipulated to drive a false narrative. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: Viral EFCC mugshot of VeryDarkMan shows charges brought against him. Verdict: False. Our findings reveal that the viral mugshot was manipulated.\u00a0 Full Text Social media went agog on May 2, 2025, when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested self-acclaimed activist, Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), at a Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) branch in Abuja. Following his arrest, Facebook blogs like Jerry Wife TV (archived here) and Ochuole Updates started sharing a mugshot of VDM posing with an arrest placard. The placard showed his name, the alleged charges against him, and a date. The placard alleged that VDM was arrested for \u201cAlleged case of cyberstalking and ML.\u201d  The image also appeared on X, as seen here (archived here). This image has generated a debate, with users like Chigozie Ike saying VDM has started experiencing \u201ckarma\u201d for his activism.  However, Adeniyi Awoniyi, another Facebook user, questioned this image’s authenticity. In the comment section, Adeniyi wrote, \u201cEverybody has become a blogger posting fake information and fake news. When they are arrested, they will be looking for supporters who will be protesting for them to be released. Mind what you post.\u201d DUBAWA conducted this verification due to the ongoing controversies surrounding VDM\u2019s arrest. Verification DUBAWA observed several red flags at a glance. First, VDM was smiling, a rather unusual expression for someone held in custody for days. Second, his name was wrongly spelt on the placard. It was spelt as \u201cMartin Vicent Otse\u201d instead of \u201cMartins Vincent Otse.\u201d  The image also appeared blurry, a common characteristic of manipulated visuals. Most doctored images lose metadata during editing, resulting in reduced image quality.  Apart from these, a quick check on the EFCC\u2019s social media handles shows that the commission did not post this image. We subjected the image to Fake Image Detector, a tool for analysing manipulated images. The result indicated that the image was either generated or modified. Furthermore, we conducted a keyword search on Google, which revealed a version of the image, featuring VDM\u2019s outfit and the same window background, on a Facebook parody profile. Using that as a reference, we performed a reverse image search, which led us to VDM\u2019s Instagram profile. There, we found the original version of the photo, along with a video, posted on December 26, 2023. In a statement shared by the EFCC on May 6, 2025, the EFCC said they had previously invited VDM over multiple petitions on \u201calleged financial crimes\u201d but he failed to honour the invitations. The EFCC also noted he was lawfully arrested and detained with a valid remand order. \u201cThe EFCC should be allowed to do its job without fear or favour. As soon as investigations are concluded, charges will be filed,\u201d a part of the statement reads. Conclusion Our findings show that the circulating mugshot of VDM was manipulated to drive a false narrative. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1571,437,3812,3815,123],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3009],"class_list":["post-22576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-check","category-facebook-checks","category-headline","category-homepage","category-mainstream"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-5S8","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3009,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"sunday-awosoro","display_name":"Sunday Awosoro","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/VDM.png?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22578,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22576\/revisions\/22578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22576"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=22576"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=22576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}