The Nigeria Police Force has challenged social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), to provide evidence backing his allegation that police officers manning checkpoints on major highways collude with kidnappers and bandits to facilitate the abduction of travellers.
The Force made the demand in a statement issued on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, following comments attributed to VDM at the recent Nigerian Bar Association Conference in Port Harcourt.
VDM had alleged that some police officers at checkpoints identify wealthy travellers and relay information about their identities and movements to kidnappers, who subsequently target them for abduction and ransom.
Reacting to the allegation, the police described the claim as serious, unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to an institution responsible for protecting millions of Nigerians.
The Force said allegations of such magnitude required corresponding evidence, stressing that police personnel deployed to checkpoints and other locations nationwide were assigned to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens.
According to the statement, the same officers stationed along major highways routinely confront criminal elements, including kidnappers and bandits, and have suffered attacks and fatalities in the course of their duties.
“Police personnel have been ambushed, attacked and killed, while police stations, formations and operational assets have equally been targeted by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals,” the Force said.
The police also defended its personnel against what it described as blanket accusations, noting that hundreds of thousands of officers perform their duties daily under difficult, underfunded and often dangerous conditions.
It said broad allegations portraying the entire Force as complicit in kidnapping could demoralise officers who were working to keep criminal elements off the nation’s roads.
The Force, however, acknowledged that individual officers could compromise their duties, assuring that personnel found to have engaged in misconduct would face internal disciplinary measures and the full weight of the law.
“Where individual officers are found to have compromised their duty, they will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law,” the statement said.
The police consequently invited VDM to produce the evidence upon which he based his claims, including any proof that officers at checkpoints identify wealthy individuals and transmit information about them to kidnappers to facilitate their abduction.
The Force said any credible evidence supplied would be treated with urgency and subjected to thorough investigation.
It also urged members of the public who possess evidence of police misconduct to report through appropriate channels rather than relying solely on public allegations.
The statement reaffirmed the police commitment to transparency and accountability, saying credible allegations of misconduct would continue to be investigated regardless of how they emerged.
The Force, however, warned against the casual dissemination of unverified claims concerning national security institutions, arguing that such allegations could undermine public confidence and national security.
The statement was signed by CSP Ani Iniedu, Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, and dated August 27, 2026.