The Nigeria Police Force has strongly rejected allegations by social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), that police officers manning highway checkpoints supply information to kidnappers and bandits to facilitate abductions for ransom.
The Force, in a statement issued on Thursday, 27 August 2026, by its Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said the comments made by Otse at the just-concluded Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt were unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to the institution.
According to the police, personnel deployed to checkpoints across the country are there to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens, not to aid kidnappers. The Force noted that the same officers routinely confront the criminals in question and have themselves been ambushed, attacked and killed, while police stations and operational assets have also come under assault by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent elements.
The statement described the sweeping accusations as deeply demoralising to the hundreds of thousands of officers who report for duty daily under difficult, underfunded and often dangerous conditions. While assuring that any officer found to have compromised his or her duty would face the full weight of internal discipline and the law, the Force insisted that an entire institution should not be condemned on the strength of a public statement made without evidence.
The Nigeria Police Force has therefore invited Otse to produce, without delay, the evidence upon which he based the serious allegations, including any proof that officers at checkpoints identify wealthy travellers and pass their details to kidnappers. It also urged members of the public with credible information about officer misconduct to come forward through official channels rather than through public allegations alone.
The Force reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and accountability, stating that it would continue to investigate all credible allegations of misconduct and act decisively where wrongdoing is established. It, however, warned that the sacrifices of its personnel and the integrity of the institution would not be casually diminished by unverified claims.
CSP Iniedu called on Nigerians to exercise responsibility when making and sharing allegations concerning national security institutions, stressing the need to distinguish between legitimate criticism that strengthens accountability and unsubstantiated claims that could endanger public trust and national security.
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