Eric Patrick
A potential bloodbath was narrowly averted in Makurdi on Sunday after popular activist and social media influencer, Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), made a surprise intervention that calmed a growing storm of youth-led protests in Benue State.
Thousands of angry youths had taken over the Wurukum Roundabout, the main gateway between Northern and Southern Nigeria, in protest against renewed killings in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area. The protesters, armed with placards, tree branches, and raw emotion, paralyzed traffic and vowed not to leave until the state and federal governments addressed the persistent violence that has claimed countless lives.
Chanting “Stop Benue killings!” and “We won’t surrender to Fulani!”, the youths ignored pleas from Benue State Police Commissioner, Ifeanyi Emenari, and Deputy Governor Samuel Ode, demanding that only the governor himself would be allowed to address them.
Even after police fired teargas canisters to disperse the crowd, the protesters dug in, lighting bonfires and blocking New Otukpo Road and parts of Abu King Shuluwa Road in defiance.
But everything changed when VeryDarkMan drove into the scene around midday. His arrival triggered loud cheers, with the crowd surging forward to welcome him like a messiah.
Standing near the UBA Junction, VDM addressed the tense crowd with raw emotion and clarity. He spoke of burnt children, scorched farmlands, and a community long abandoned by those in power.
“Before coming here, I saw things I’ve never seen before. Children burnt to ashes… food, homes, lives—all destroyed. And we have a government? This has been happening since I was a child,” he said, his voice breaking.
While acknowledging the legitimacy of the protest, VDM urged restraint, warning that blocking roads and burning tyres would only justify state force and derail the message.
“You are giving them a reason to shoot teargas. Let us protest smartly. Use your phones, use your voice. Don’t block roads, walk around peacefully. This is 2025—we must be wiser,” he told the crowd.
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He appealed to their conscience, encouraging them to clear the barricades, put out bonfires, and plan a peaceful march with police approval to avoid bloodshed.
The impact was immediate. Protesters began dismantling blockades and followed him back to Wurukum Roundabout, where he again urged peace amid renewed police teargas.
One of the youth leaders, Seedoff Mbapuun, alias Benue Pete Edochie, said the protest was their desperate cry for help.
“People are killed every day in Benue, and the world is silent. We came out so people will finally hear us.”
Despite assurances from the police commissioner that Special Forces and Tactical Teams were now on the ground in vulnerable areas like Apa, Agatu, and Gwer West, trust in government remains dangerously thin.
“We are in control. Bandits were flushed out of the bushes. We only ask that the youths let us finish the job,” CP Emenari said.
Yet, in the end, it was not the government that calmed the storm — it was VeryDarkMan, with his voice, conviction, and presence.
The Wurukum standoff lasted more than five hours. It could have ended in blood. Instead, it ended with a plea for peace and tears for Yelewata.