The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has invited social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to substantiate allegations he made against police officers during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt.
Nigerian Newssphere reports that VDM was a panelist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the NBA on Tuesday, where he alleged that some police officers manning checkpoints along major highways provide kidnappers and bandits with information about travellers.
According to the activist, the alleged actions of the officers contribute to abductions for ransom across the country.
Reacting to the allegation, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, in a statement on Thursday, denied the claim.
The police said officers deployed to “checkpoints and other locations nationwide are there to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens, not to facilitate kidnapping.”
The statement added that the same officers “routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information.”
The NPF said it was inviting VDM to provide evidence supporting his allegations.
“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.
