Falana Faults NBA Over VeryDarkMan’s Conference Invitation
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association over its decision to invite social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to speak at its 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt.
Falana expressed his reservations during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, August 27, while reacting to the controversy surrounding VeryDarkMan’s appearance at the conference, where he spoke on insecurity in Nigeria.
According to the senior lawyer, the NBA should ensure that speakers invited to address legal practitioners possess relevant expertise or practical experience in the subjects assigned to them.
Falana argued that the association’s conferences should primarily promote intellectual engagement and professional development rather than serve as platforms for entertainment.
He maintained that discussions on specialised issues, particularly national security, should feature individuals who have played a direct role in the country’s security architecture or have experienced the consequences of insecurity.
The legal icon said lawyers should be exposed to speakers whose knowledge and experience can deepen their understanding of issues being discussed at professional gatherings.
His position came after some lawyers, including Professor Chidi Odinkalu, defended the NBA’s decision to invite VeryDarkMan, arguing that lawyers could benefit from hearing directly from members of the public who interact with the justice system.
Responding to the argument, Falana said Odinkalu’s position was valid in a broader context but did not necessarily justify the choice of a speaker without specialised experience for a discussion focused on national security.
He stressed that the NBA could invite members of the public to discuss issues such as justice delivery, particularly where their personal experiences could provide useful insights into the legal system.
However, he insisted that discussions on national security should involve security professionals, victims of abduction or other individuals with direct knowledge of the subject.
Falana also called on the NBA to revive what he described as the intellectual tradition of its annual conferences, recalling how presentations by respected legal scholars and jurists in previous years generated extensive debates among lawyers and the wider public.
He cited the contributions of the late Dr Akinola Aguda and former Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa at past NBA conferences as examples of presentations that continued to attract public discussion long after the events.
The senior lawyer further urged the NBA to scrutinise the records of political leaders invited to speak on democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law.
According to him, former political leaders invited to address lawyers on such subjects should be able to demonstrate that their records in office align with the principles they are discussing.
The controversy surrounding VeryDarkMan’s invitation has continued to attract reactions from lawyers, activists and members of the public, particularly following his comments and allegations concerning insecurity and the conduct of security personnel in Nigeria.
