Police challenge VDM to prove alleged checkpoint-kidnap link

By Johnson Arua

The Nigeria Police Force has challenged social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to provide evidence backing his allegation that some police officers at checkpoints along major highways pass information about travellers to kidnappers and bandits.

The Force, in a statement issued on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, described the allegation made by VDM at the recent Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt as “unsubstantiated” and unfairly damaging to the police institution.

According to the statement, allegations of such gravity require a corresponding standard of evidence, stressing that the required evidence had not been presented.

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

It noted that police personnel routinely confronted the same criminal elements alleged to be receiving information from checkpoints, adding that officers had been ambushed, attacked and killed by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals.

The Force also appealed to members of the public to avoid making blanket accusations against its personnel, noting that hundreds of thousands of officers perform their duties daily under difficult, underfunded and dangerous conditions.

It, however, said any officer found to have compromised his or her duty would face the full weight of internal disciplinary measures and the law.

The statement urged VDM to produce without delay any evidence supporting his claims, particularly evidence that police officers identify wealthy travellers and subsequently transmit information about them to kidnappers to facilitate their abduction.

The Force assured that any credible evidence received would be treated with urgency and thoroughly investigated, while urging members of the public with evidence of police misconduct to use appropriate channels rather than relying solely on public allegations.

The police reaffirmed their commitment to transparency and accountability, while cautioning the public to distinguish between legitimate criticism that promotes accountability and unsubstantiated claims that could undermine public trust and national security.