Nollywood filmmaker, Stanley Ontop, has accused gospel singer, Mercy Chinwo, of involvement in the arrest of online critic VeryDarkMan (VDM). VDM, whose real name is Vincent Martins Otse, was arrested on May 1, 2025, after leaving a GTBank premises with his mother, where they were addressing issues related to missing funds from her account.

Following VDM’s arrest, singer Seun Kuti claimed that VDM’s lawyer informed him that the arrest was related to a gospel artist VDM had criticized for allegedly taking someone’s money. This led many Nigerians to point fingers at Mercy Chinwo, given VDM’s recent criticism of her dispute with her former manager, Eezee Tee.

Stanley Ontop shared on his Instagram page that Mercy Chinwo blocked him after he asked her and her husband, Blessed, to free VeryDarkMan. Ontop wrote, "Mercy Chinwo blocked me last night because I told her and her husband to free VDM. It is laughable how a minister of God would just block me for saying the truth." He captioned the post with criticisms directed at Chinwo and a plea for VDM's release.

Ontop’s claims sparked various reactions from netizens. Some supported Ontop, praising his fearlessness and condemning Mercy Chinwo. Others questioned the claims, requesting evidence of her involvement and the blocking incident. Some netizens suggested that Mercy Chinwo might not be directly managing her social media account.

Meanwhile, VDM's brother, Mark, and his friend, Kokopee, reported that they were denied entry to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Abuja when they attempted to deliver food and drinks to VeryDarkMan a day after his arrest.