Social media commentator Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has challenged a claim attributed to Apostle Arome that he and his team spent several years operating in Boko Haram-controlled territory and held open-air crusades there.
VeryDarkMan questioned the account in a video response, demanding evidence to support the claim and challenging the cleric to explain why Boko Haram’s insurgency and attacks continued despite what Arome described as repeated religious activities in areas controlled by the group.
Arome had reportedly said he spent four years and six months in Boko Haram territory and that his team conducted open-air crusades there annually.
According to the account attributed to him, members of his team once travelled at night despite his instruction not to do so and were subsequently arrested by Boko Haram fighters. He said the insurgents confiscated their phones and injured one of the men before eventually releasing them.
VeryDarkMan questioned the circumstances surrounding the reported crusades and asked Arome to provide evidence showing where and when the activities took place.
He also challenged the theological implication of the claim, asking why Boko Haram continued attacking and killing people if the crusades were conducted in areas under the group’s influence.
The social media commentator’s remarks were framed as a challenge to Arome’s account and should not be interpreted as independent confirmation that the cleric did not carry out the activities he described.
The dispute comes amid a broader public debate over the role of religious leaders in confronting insecurity in Nigeria.
VeryDarkMan has previously criticised religious figures for placing emphasis on prayer while, in his view, insufficiently addressing political, economic and institutional factors behind insecurity.
His latest comments therefore extend an ongoing confrontation over the responsibilities of religious leaders and the limits of spiritual intervention in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
Boko Haram and its splinter groups have operated for years across parts of Nigeria’s North-East, with the insurgency resulting in widespread deaths, displacement and disruption of communities. The security situation has also involved distinct factions, including Boko Haram’s JAS faction and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Arome’s account and VeryDarkMan’s challenge have generated renewed online discussion, but neither the alleged crusades nor the specific circumstances surrounding the reported encounters with Boko Haram were independently established by the sources reviewed for this report.
The controversy is therefore likely to continue as the two sides present competing interpretations of the role of faith, religious outreach and spiritual authority in a region that has endured years of insurgency and insecurity.