‘Provide Evidence’ – Nigeria Police Replies VeryDarkMan Over Kidnapping Comments At NBA Conference

The Nigeria Police has denied claims by social media personality, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), that its officers manning checkpoints along major highways relay information to kidnappers and bandits regarding the identity and movement of travellers, thereby facilitating abductions for ransom.

The Police said VDM’s comments at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt are false and unsubstantiated.

The Police statement, released on Thursday and made available to Naija News by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said its officers who put their lives on the line to prevent crime deserve better than a blanket accusation.

It described VDM’s allegations as unfair and demoralizing, particularly as they were made without corresponding evidence.

Police leadership assured that individual officers found to have compromised their duty will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law, but concluded that accusing the whole institution of guilt without evidence, as VDM did, is unacceptable.

“The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to comments made by Mr. Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as “VeryDarkMan(VDM),” at the recent Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt, in which he alleged that police officers manning checkpoints along major highways relay information to kidnappers and bandits regarding the identity and movement of travellers, thereby facilitating abductions for ransom.

“The Nigeria Police Force takes all allegations concerning the conduct of its personnel seriously. We wish to state clearly:

1. On the Nature of the Allegation

“The Nigeria Police Force firmly rejects these allegations as unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to an institution entrusted with the protection of millions of Nigerians. Allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.

“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. Indeed, these same police officers routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information. 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.

2. Our Officers Deserve Better Than Blanket Accusations

“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. 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. 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,” the statement read in part.

Provide Evidence

The Police therefore charged VDM to immediately provide evidence to justify his claims. It assured that such evidence would be treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly.

“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. Any such information will be treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly. We encourage any member of the public with credible evidence of officer misconduct to come forward through these channels rather than through public allegation alone, so that appropriate action can be taken,” the statement added.

Iniedu reiterated the commitment of the Police Force to transparency, accountability and professionalism in all its operations.

It cautioned VDM and other members of the public to avoid unverified allegations, particularly when dealing with issues concerning national security.

“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.

“However, the sacrifices of our personnel and the integrity of the institution will not be casually diminished by unverified allegations. Anyone with credible evidence of misconduct should bring it forward through the appropriate channels for investigation in accordance with the law.

“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,” the statement concluded.