The Nigeria Police Force has asked social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to provide evidence for his allegation that police officers at highway checkpoints provide kidnappers and bandits with information about travellers.
The Force made the demand on Thursday, 27 August 2026, in response to comments attributed to Otse at the recent Nigerian Bar Association Conference in Port Harcourt. The allegation centred on claims that officers identify wealthy travellers and pass information about their identity and movement to criminals who later abduct them for ransom.
The police rejected the allegation as unsubstantiated and said claims of such gravity require evidence. It said officers deployed to checkpoints and other locations nationwide are assigned to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens.
The Force said the officers stationed on major roads also confront the criminals accused of receiving information from them. It said police personnel have been ambushed, attacked and killed, with police stations, formations and operational assets also targeted by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals.
Police demand evidence for claims
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said the police were inviting Otse to provide the evidence behind his claims without delay.
The requested evidence includes any material showing that officers at checkpoints identify wealthy travellers and subsequently transmit information about them to kidnappers to facilitate abductions.
The police said any information supplied would be treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly.
READ RELATED NEWS
Finally, EFCC breaks silence on the arrest of VDM
VDM’s detention: Amnesty Int’l accuses EFCC of intimidation, harassment
Tinubu administration abusing power with VDM’s arrest, detention – Atiku
The Force also invited members of the public who have credible evidence of police misconduct to bring it forward through appropriate channels. It said such evidence would allow cases involving individual officers to be investigated and dealt with under the law.
The response drew a distinction between allegations against individual officers and accusations against the entire police institution.
The police said it has hundreds of thousands of officers who report for duty under difficult, underfunded and dangerous conditions. It said many officers stationed at checkpoints work in places exposed to the same criminal elements they are assigned to keep off the roads.
The Force said public accusations portraying the entire institution as complicit in kidnapping can demoralise officers who perform their duties with integrity.
However, it acknowledged that individual officers can compromise their duties and said such officers would face internal discipline and the law when wrongdoing is established.
Police defend accountability process
The Force said it would continue to investigate credible allegations of misconduct, regardless of how they are presented.
It also said the integrity of the institution should not be diminished by allegations made without evidence. For the police, the appropriate course is to present credible information so that investigators can examine the facts and take action where wrongdoing is established.
The response came from the Force Headquarters in Abuja and was signed by Iniedu, the Force Public Relations Officer.
The police also appealed to members of the public to exercise responsibility when making or sharing allegations involving national security institutions.
It said legitimate criticism can strengthen accountability, but claims without evidence can affect public trust and national security.
The dispute centres on the conduct of police officers at checkpoints, where the Force says personnel are deployed to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect travellers.
The police position is that an allegation that officers use those duties to help kidnappers requires evidence identifying the officers involved and showing how information about travellers was passed to criminals.
The Force therefore placed the burden on Otse to produce the material supporting his claims and said it would investigate any credible evidence presented.
They also stressed that its position does not shield officers found to have acted improperly. It said personnel who compromise their duties would face disciplinary action and legal consequences.
The Force’s response was issued after VDM made the allegations at the NBA Conference in Port Harcourt. It rejected the claims but left open the possibility of investigation should credible evidence be presented.
CSP Ani Iniedu said the police would continue to examine credible allegations of misconduct and act where wrongdoing is established.
For More News Details, Visit New Daily Prime.
