Kidnap: Police Reject VeryDarkMan’s Allegations, Demand Evidence For Urgent Investigation

The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, has rejected allegations by social media personality, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, that police officers manning checkpoints along major highways relay information about travellers to kidnappers and bandits to facilitate abductions for ransom.

The Force, in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, yesterday, challenged Otse to produce evidence supporting the allegations, saying any credible information provided would be urgently investigated.

The statement followed comments attributed to VeryDarkMan at the recent Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, where he alleged that some police officers at checkpoints identify wealthy travellers and subsequently pass information about their identity and movement to criminal gangs.

Reacting, the police said the allegations were “unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging” to an institution responsible for protecting millions of Nigerians.

The Force said: “Allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.”

According to the police, personnel deployed to checkpoints and other locations nationwide are there to “prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens, not to facilitate kidnapping.”

The Force also noted that its personnel routinely confront the same criminal elements accused of receiving such information from police officers, adding that several officers had been ambushed, attacked and killed in the line of duty.

“Police personnel have been ambushed, attacked and killed, while police stations, formations and operational assets have equally been targeted by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals,” the statement said.

The police further defended its personnel against what it described as blanket accusations, saying hundreds of thousands of officers report for duty daily under difficult, underfunded and dangerous conditions.

It said many officers deployed to checkpoints operate in areas exposed to the criminal elements they are tasked with keeping off the nation’s roads.

The Force said while individual officers found to have compromised their duties would face sanctions, the entire institution should not be condemned without evidence.

“Where individual officers are found to have compromised their duty, they will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law. But an entire institution should not be condemned on the strength of a public statement made without evidence,” it said.

The police consequently invited VeryDarkMan to submit the evidence upon which he based his claims, particularly any information showing that officers identify wealthy individuals and transmit their details to kidnappers.

“Any such information will be treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly,” the Force said.

It also urged members of the public with credible evidence of police misconduct to report through appropriate channels to enable the authorities investigate and take necessary action.

The Force reiterated its commitment to transparency and accountability, stressing that it “will continue to investigate all credible allegations of misconduct, however they arise, and we will not hesitate to act where wrongdoing is established.”

It, however, appealed to Nigerians to exercise responsibility when making or sharing allegations concerning national security institutions, warning that unsubstantiated claims could undermine public trust and national security.

The police said legitimate criticism strengthens accountability, but insisted that unsupported allegations should not be allowed to diminish the sacrifices of officers or the integrity of the institution.