The Nigeria Police Force has formally challenged social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to substantiate claims that police officers at highway checkpoints collude with kidnappers and bandits.
The demand follows controversial remarks made by VDM during the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt, where he alleged that officers manning highway checkpoints identify wealthy travelers and tip off criminal networks about their movements to facilitate abductions for ransom.
In a statement issued Thursday by Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the police described the allegations as grave, unsubstantiated, and deeply damaging to the institution’s public trust.
“Allegations of such magnitude require credible evidence. Officers deployed to checkpoints and strategic locations across the nation are mandated to prevent crime, detect illegal activity, and protect citizens—frequently confronting the very criminal elements they are accused of aiding,” the statement read.
While rejecting the social media activist’s claims, the Force maintained that its personnel risk their lives daily on major transit corridors and urged anyone with concrete proof of officer misconduct to submit it through official channels for immediate investigation.
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