FCT Police Deny Awareness, Investigation into VeryDarkMan’s Alleged N180 Million Fraud
By Okafor Joseph Afam | December 28, 2024
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Abuja, has stated that it is unaware of and not investigating the alleged theft of N180 million from the account of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) owned by Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
This clarification follows a report by SaharaReporters on Friday, revealing that hackers infiltrated Otse’s NGO account and diverted the funds. Otse, a prominent social media commentator, disclosed the breach via his Instagram page, noting that a suspect has been apprehended in connection with the crime.
Otse explained that the compromised account was placed on Payment Network Disconnection (PND). He further revealed that N160 million had been transferred to an unknown account, while the remaining N20 million remained frozen in the hacked account.
The incident occurred shortly after the launch of the Martins Vincent Osei Initiative in October, an NGO project that garnered over N35 million in donations within hours. The initiative later received a significant boost with a N100 million donation from renowned music producer Don Jazzy.
Speaking about the breach, Otse shared his distress:
“For the past few days, I’ve not been myself. I’m currently at the airport with Officer Joe, heading to Jos. Somebody hacked into the NGO website, and N180 million is missing. Thankfully, we’ve tracked the suspect, and we are taking action.”
However, when contacted on Saturday, the FCT Police Command denied any involvement in the case.
Josephine Adeh, the spokesperson for the command, clarified,
“The FCT Police Command is not aware of any case involving VDM’s missing funds and is not conducting any investigation into it. The individual in question should be contacted to clarify where the matter was reported, as there is no record of such a case with the FCT Police Command.”
The incident has sparked widespread attention, with many questioning the security measures surrounding NGO fund management and the efficiency of law enforcement in handling cybercrimes.
