The Nigeria Police Force has challenged social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to provide evidence backing his allegation that police officers at checkpoints along major highways supply kidnappers and bandits with information about travellers.
VDM reportedly made the allegation at the recent Nigerian Bar Association Conference in Port Harcourt, claiming that police personnel identify wealthy travellers and relay information about their identities and movements to criminal groups to facilitate abductions for ransom.
Reacting to the claim in a statement issued on Thursday, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, described the allegation as serious but unsubstantiated, stressing that claims of such gravity must be supported by credible evidence.
Iniedu said officers deployed to checkpoints and other strategic locations across the country were assigned to prevent crime, detect criminal activities and protect citizens, rather than facilitate kidnapping.
According to him, police personnel routinely confront the same criminal elements accused of receiving such information, noting that officers have been ambushed, attacked and killed by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals.
The police spokesman also defended the integrity of the majority of police personnel, saying hundreds of thousands of officers continue to perform their duties under difficult, underfunded and dangerous conditions.
He said blanket accusations portraying the entire Force as complicit in kidnapping were unfair and capable of demoralising officers who risk their lives to protect members of the public.
The Force, however, acknowledged that individual officers found to have compromised their duties would face disciplinary measures and prosecution in accordance with the law.
The police therefore invited VDM to submit, without delay, any evidence in his possession, particularly evidence showing that checkpoint personnel identify wealthy individuals and subsequently transmit their details to kidnappers.
The Force Public Relations Officer assured that any credible information supplied would be treated with urgency and thoroughly investigated.
The Nigeria Police Force reiterated its commitment to transparency and accountability, urging members of the public with evidence of police misconduct to use appropriate channels to report such cases.
The Force also called for responsibility in making and circulating allegations concerning national security institutions, stressing the need to distinguish between legitimate criticism that promotes accountability and unsubstantiated claims capable of undermining public trust and national security.