The Nigeria Police Force has asked social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to provide evidence backing his allegations against police officers stationed at checkpoints across the country.
VeryDarkMan made the claims on Tuesday while participating as a panelist at the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, where he spoke about insecurity in Nigeria.
During his address, the activist accused some police officers operating checkpoints along major highways of sharing information about travellers with kidnappers and bandits.
He alleged that officers identify the movements and identities of travellers, particularly wealthy individuals, and pass such information to criminal groups, thereby contributing to the rise in abductions for ransom across the country.
Reacting to the allegations, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, dismissed the claim in a statement issued on Thursday.
The police said officers deployed to checkpoints and other strategic locations nationwide were assigned to prevent crime, detect criminal activities and safeguard members of the public.
The Force maintained that its personnel at checkpoints were actively involved in confronting criminal elements rather than assisting them.
“Indeed, these same police officers routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information.
“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 allegations alone, so that appropriate action can be taken,” he stated.
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