Nigeria Police invites VeryDarkMan over comments at NBA conference
The Nigeria Police Force has summoned social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan to substantiate a claim he made during a speech at the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, conference in Port Harcourt.
VeryDarkMan was one of the panelists at the 66th Annual General Conference of the NBA on Tuesday where he made allegations against officers of the NPF.
He said police officers manning checkpoints on major highways across the country are relaying information on the identities and movements of travelers to kidnappers and bandits.
The activist said the actions of the officers have been facilitating abductions for ransom across the nation.
But responding, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, denied the allegation in a statement on Thursday.
Police said the 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 , these same police officers regularly challenge the very criminals who are said to be the recipients of such information .
“Therefore, the Nigeria Police Force hereby calls on Mr. Martins Vincent Otse to immediately produce the evidence on which he made these damning allegations, including any evidence that police personnel at checkpoints do profile wealthy individuals and subsequently give information about them to kidnappers for the purpose of facilitating their kidnap.
Any such information will be treated as a matter of urgency and investigated fully.
“We would urge any member of the public who has credible evidence of officer misconduct to come forward through these channels, rather than through public allegations alone, so appropriate action can be taken,” he said.
