Over 100,000 Nigerians Unfollow GTBank, Withdraw Funds
No fewer than 100,000 Nigerians have reportedly unfollowed Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) accounts within 24 hours, following the controversial arrest of outspoken social commentator, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).
OSUN DEFENDER reports that the arrest, which has sparked outrage nationwide, was allegedly orchestrated by GTBank after VDM publicly called out the bank over unauthorised deductions from his mother’s account under the guise of loan repayments she never applied for.
The medium had earlier reported that VDM was apprehended in Abuja by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, purportedly on instructions from GTBank management.
His legal representative, Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the arrest, describing it as a direct attack on free speech and consumer rights.
“My client was arrested simply for demanding transparency and accountability over suspicious debits on his mother’s account. There was no justification for his detention,” Adeyanju said.
In a viral video shared before his arrest, VDM lamented the repeated deductions and revealed that he had visited a GTBank branch to obtain bank statements and demand clarity.
“In this year alone, more than seven debits have been made in the name of loan repayments that were never taken,” he said.
The backlash was swift and fierce. Nigerians took to social media en masse under the hashtag #FreeVeryDarkMan, with many pledging to boycott the bank.
As at press time, GTBank’s official platforms were flooded with over 13,000 complaints, while mass account closures were reported nationwide.
“I’m done with GTBank,” one user, @officialpac02, posted. “Everybody should withdraw their money. I’m not going back there.”
Another user, @dunamisfotography, wrote: “I stopped using GTB already when they nearly killed me with unnecessary bills and bad network.”
This is not the first time the financial institution is being accused of highhandedness. OSUN DEFENDER recalls that in 2024, four journalists were arrested and charged on spurious grounds linked to the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje. The court later dismissed the charges.
Similarly, in April 2025, one Ariyo Ahmed Adewale accused GTBank of orchestrating his arrest after protesting the disappearance of funds from his account inside a Lagos branch.
GTBank has yet to issue an official statement addressing the latest incident involving VDM, but an earlier advisory from the bank warned customers to only interact with verified accounts due to the prevalence of fake social media pages.
Sodiq Lawal is a passionate and dedicated journalist with a knack for uncovering captivating stories in the bustling metropolis of Osun State and Nigeria at large. He has a versatile reporting style, covering a wide range of topics, from politics , campus, and social issues to arts and culture, seeking impact in all facets of the society.
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