Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for inviting social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to speak at its 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Falana made his position known during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday while reacting to VDM’s appearance at the conference.
VDM participated in a panel session titled “Known Gunmen or Unknown Gunmen,” where he spoke about his experiences covering insecurity and visiting communities affected by killings and attacks. His appearance generated mixed reactions, with some lawyers defending the decision to include him while others questioned his suitability for the session.
Falana argued that the NBA’s annual conferences should be platforms for intellectual engagement and should feature people with established expertise or practical experience in the subjects being discussed.
He recalled that previous NBA conferences featured individuals who had “paid their dues” and were able to engage lawyers intellectually.
According to the senior lawyer, discussions on national security should involve people who have direct experience with Nigeria’s security architecture, either from the public or private sector.
He questioned the decision to invite someone without a professional background in national security to address lawyers on such a specialised issue.
Falana said the same principle should apply to other subjects. He gave the example of a conference on media freedom, arguing that such a discussion should feature journalists, academics or other professionals with established experience in the field.
He maintained that the NBA should not turn its annual conference into an entertainment platform, stressing that the quality and expertise of speakers should remain central to the event.
The senior lawyer also recalled previous NBA conferences where presentations by respected legal scholars and jurists generated serious intellectual discussions that continued beyond the events themselves.
He cited the contributions of late legal figures such as Dr Akinola Aguda and Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, saying their conference presentations sparked debates among lawyers and became subjects of wider public discourse.
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