By Gbenga Babawibe Esq
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference (AGC) has historically stood as the zenith of intellectual, legal, and socio-political discourse in Nigeria. It is a sacred gathering of learned minds, designed to evaluate the state of the nation, uphold the rule of law, and produce outcomes that direct the policies of governments and states.
It is with this profound understanding of the Bar’s mandate that one must thoroughly condemn the baffling and deeply embarrassing invitation of Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as “VDM,” as a panelist at the 2026 NBA AGC in Port Harcourt.
To mince words would be a disservice to the legal profession. VDM is a highly controversial figure whose public persona is built on sensationalism and a blatant disregard for legal boundaries.
More alarmingly, he has made a habit of grossly misinterpreting the law to his massive audience, often misleading the public and making a caricature of our justice system. Without prejudice, this is an individual who has constantly flirted with and arguably violated the laws of the land.
The fact that he is currently getting away with these infractions is a tragic reflection of our systemic failures; it is certainly not a credential that should be legitimized, validated, or celebrated by the NBA, the supposed gathering of Nigeria’s finest intellectuals.
The NBA AGC is not a pop-culture convention. It is not a platform meant to validate social media idiosyncrasies, nor is it an avenue for the Association to jump on trending individuals or fleeting internet controversies for cheap clout. Ours is a sobering, conservative, and deeply intellectual profession.
I was personally present at the conference in Port Harcourt, and I happened to step into the very breakout session where he was featured. I entered the hall just as a military lawyer was responding to one of VDM’s unrefined vituperations. The sheer lack of decorum and the absurdity of the moment were so jarring that I turned around and walked out immediately.
While it is noted that his appearance was slated for a breakout session rather than a main plenary, the reality remains that a man with VDM’s track record of legal distortion and public controversy should not even be seen sitting in the front row of our conference, let alone being handed a microphone as a panelist.
It is an open secret that certain elements within the organization’s leadership occasionally use the choice of guest speakers and panelists to push underlying political or populist agendas.
However, this particular choice crosses a red line. Elevating a social media agitator to the status of a resource person at a legal conference demeans and drastically reduces the image of the NBA in the eyes of ordinary Nigerians.
The public looks up to the Bar for moral, ethical, and legal direction. When we share our prestigious platforms with individuals who make a mockery of the very laws we swore to uphold, we strip ourselves of our dignity and moral authority.
Let it be known that the vast majority of us the lawyers who pay our dues and uphold the ethics of this noble profession deeply frown at this development. Had the opinions of the general Bar been sought, this invitation would have been unanimously and vehemently vetoed.
I submit, without any equivocation, that VDM has absolutely no business being a panelist at an NBA conference and added no single value to the event.
Moving forward, the Bar must be fiercely protective of its image and uncompromisingly serious about the quality, pedigree, and intellectual depth of our resource persons.
The NBA must remain a beacon of intellectual rigor and legal excellence, not a theater for internet sensations. We must do better.
Gbenga Babawibe, Esq from Ikeja NBA “Tiger” branch)
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