NBA conference: Police want evidence, invite VeryDarkMan over checkpoint kidnapping claims

The Nigeria Police Force has invited Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as “VeryDarkMan” (VDM), to provide evidence to support his allegations that some police officers manning checkpoints on major highways relay information about travellers to kidnappers and bandits.

VeryDarkMan made the allegations while speaking at the recent Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the police said it took the allegations seriously but described them as “unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging” to an institution responsible for protecting millions of Nigerians.

The statement was titled: “RE: STATEMENTS MADE AT THE NBA CONFERENCE, PORT HARCOURT, REGARDING POLICE COMPLICITY IN KIDNAPPING INCIDENTS.”

According to the Force, “allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.”

The police said officers deployed to checkpoints nationwide were assigned to prevent crime, detect criminal activities and protect citizens, rather than facilitate kidnapping.

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“For the avoidance of doubt, 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 statement said.

It added that police personnel “routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information,” noting that officers had been attacked and killed by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals.

The Force also defended its personnel against what it described as blanket accusations, saying hundreds of thousands of police officers continue to report for duty under difficult and dangerous conditions.

“The Nigeria Police Force is made up of hundreds of thousands of officers who report for duty daily under difficult, underfunded, and often dangerous conditions, many of them at checkpoints exposed to the very criminal elements they are trying to keep off our roads,” it further noted.

The police said sweeping accusations against the Force could demoralise officers who perform their duties with integrity.

“Sweeping public accusations that paint the entire Force as complicit in the crimes it exists to prevent are deeply demoralizing to these officers and unfair to the majority who serve with integrity,” the statement added.

However, the Force said it would not shield any officer found to have compromised his or her duty, noting that “they will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law.”

The police consequently invited VeryDarkMan to produce evidence supporting his allegations, particularly claims that officers identify wealthy travellers at checkpoints and subsequently pass information about them to kidnappers to facilitate their abduction.

“Accordingly, the Nigeria Police Force hereby invites Mr. Martins Vincent Otse to produce, without delay, the evidence upon which he based these serious allegations, including any evidence that police personnel at checkpoints identify wealthy individuals and subsequently transmit information about them to kidnappers for the purpose of facilitating their abduction,” the statement added.

The Force assured that any evidence presented would be treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly, while urging members of the public with credible evidence of police misconduct to come forward through appropriate channels.

The statement further reiterated NPF commitment to transparency and accountability, saying it would continue to investigate credible allegations of misconduct regardless of how they emerged.

“The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to transparency and accountability. We will continue to investigate all credible allegations of misconduct, however they arise, and we will not hesitate to act where wrongdoing is established.

“The Force calls on members of the public to exercise responsibility in making and sharing allegations concerning national security institutions and to distinguish between legitimate criticism, which strengthens accountability, and unsubstantiated claims, which can endanger public trust and national security,” it further added.