Police Seek VeryDarkMan’s Response to NBA Conference Comments

The Nigeria Police Force has invited social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, otherwise known as VeryDarkMan, to provide evidence for a statement he made while delivering a speech at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, conference in Port Harcourt.

VeryDarkMan was a panelist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the NBA on Tuesday where he made allegations against officers of the NPF.

He said that police officers manning checkpoints on major highways across the country are passing information on the identities and movements of travelers to kidnappers and bandits.

The activist said the officers’ actions have been facilitating abductions for ransom across the nation.

Responding, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, denied the allegation in a statement on Thursday.

The police said personnel deployed to checkpoints and other locations across the country were there to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens, not to facilitate kidnapping.

In fact , the very criminals who are said to be the recipients of such information are regularly challenged by these same police officers .

“Thus, the Nigeria Police Force hereby invites Mr. Martins Vincent Otse to immediately bring forth the evidence upon which he made these damning allegations, including any evidence that police personnel at checkpoints do profile wealthy individuals and subsequently relay information about them to kidnappers for the purpose of facilitating their kidnap.

Any such information will be treated as urgent and investigated fully.

“We would encourage any member of the public with credible evidence of officer misconduct to come forward through these channels rather than public allegations only, so appropriate action can be taken,” he said.