Police Reject VDM’s Allegation of Checkpoint Complicity in Kidnapping, Demand Evidence
Our Correspondent
The Nigeria Police Force has rejected allegations by social commentator Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as “VeryDarkMan” (VDM), that officers manning checkpoints pass information on travellers to kidnappers and bandits.
VDM made the claim during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt. He alleged that police personnel identify wealthy individuals at checkpoints and relay details to criminal gangs to facilitate abductions for ransom.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Force described the allegation as “unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging” to an institution charged with protecting Nigerians. “The Nigeria Police Force firmly rejects these allegations as unsubstantiated,” the statement said.
“Allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.”
The Force stated that officers deployed to checkpoints are there to “prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens, not to facilitate kidnapping.”
It noted that police personnel have themselves been “ambushed, attacked and killed” by the same criminal elements, while stations and operational assets have been targeted by terrorists and kidnappers.
On officer conduct, the Police said while it does not condone misconduct, “sweeping public accusations that paint the entire Force as complicit” are demoralizing to the hundreds of thousands of officers who serve under “difficult, underfunded, and often dangerous conditions.”
“Where individual officers are found to have compromised their duty, they will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law,” the statement added. “But an entire institution should not be condemned on the strength of a public statement made without evidence.”
The Force said it has formally invited VDM to “produce, without delay, the evidence upon which he based these serious allegations,” including any proof that officers at checkpoints identify targets and transmit information to kidnappers.
It added that any such information would be “treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly.”
The Police also urged members of the public with credible evidence of misconduct to come forward through official channels rather than through public allegations alone.
“We will continue to investigate all credible allegations of misconduct… and we will not hesitate to act where wrongdoing is established,” the Force said.
“However, the sacrifices of our personnel and the integrity of the institution will not be casually diminished by unverified allegations.”
The statement concluded by calling on the public to “distinguish between legitimate criticism, which strengthens accountability, and unsubstantiated claims, which can endanger public trust and national security.”
As at press time, VDM is yet to respond to the Police invitation.
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