The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has invited social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to provide evidence to support allegations he made against police officers during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt.
VeryDarkMan, who served as a panelist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the NBA on Tuesday, alleged that some police officers manning checkpoints along major highways relay information about travellers to kidnappers and bandits.
According to the activist, the alleged actions of such officers have contributed to abductions for ransom across the country.
However, the Nigeria Police Force, in a statement issued on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, denied the allegations and challenged Otse to immediately produce evidence to support his claims.
The Force explained that police personnel deployed to checkpoints and other locations nationwide are stationed to prevent crime, detect criminal activities and protect citizens, rather than facilitate kidnapping.
“Indeed, these same police officers routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information,” the statement said.
“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.”
The police also encouraged members of the public with credible evidence of officer misconduct to report such cases through appropriate official channels to enable thorough investigations and necessary action.
“We encourage any member of the public with credible evidence of officer misconduct to come forward through these channels rather than through public allegations alone, so that appropriate action can be taken,” the Force stated.
