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The lawyer to social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), Marshall Abubakar, has alleged the existence of an illegal kidney harvesting syndicate targeting vulnerable young Nigerians through deceptive medical procedures.
Abubakar made the allegation during a television interview on Friday, claiming that more than 10 youths may have fallen victim to the suspected organ trafficking network involving medical practitioners and their agents.
According to him, the matter came to light after a young man approached the Martin Luther King Centre, headed by VeryDarkMan, with a medical report indicating that his left kidney was missing.
He said the centre conducted independent medical checks at two hospitals in Abuja, including a government-owned hospital in Jabi, where doctors reportedly confirmed that the man's left kidney had been removed.
Abubakar alleged that the victim received about 1,300 dollars after the procedure and that his identity was changed through an affidavit in another name in an attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding the operation.
He further claimed that other young Nigerians from Masaka, Nyanya and Mararaba had been recruited through agents and subjected to similar procedures.
According to the lawyer, kidneys allegedly removed from some victims were later sold for between ₦50 million and ₦70 million, while the donors received only a small fraction of the proceeds.
Abubakar described the alleged scheme as a criminal enterprise, stressing that legitimate organ donation requires informed consent and must never be driven by financial inducement.
He also alleged that the families of the affected youths were not informed before the procedures and only became aware after the cases surfaced.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and no response had been issued by the individuals or medical institutions implicated at the time of filing this report. Investigations by the relevant authorities are expected to establish the authenticity of the claims and determine whether any laws were violated.
