The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, on Thursday, reacted to the allegation against the police made by Mr. Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as “VeryDarkMan,VDM, at the recent conference of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, in Port Harcourt.
The Force also invited VDM to produce evidence to substantiate his allegations.
VDM had, in his comment at the conference, alleged the police officers at check points on highways give information to kidnappers and bandits on the identity of travellers, leading to abductions.
The Nigeria Police Force in its reaction, signed by Force Publice Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, and posted on X, said the force takes allegations against officers seriously.
“The Nigeria Police Force takes all allegations concerning the conduct of its personnel seriously.
“We wish to state clearly: On the Nature of the Allegation
The Nigeria Police Force firmly rejects these allegations as unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to an institution entrusted with the protection of millions of Nigerians.
“Allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.
For the avoidance of doubt, police personnel deployed to checkpoints and other locations nationwide are there to prevent crime, detect criminal activity and protect citizens, not to facilitate kidnapping.
“Indeed, these same police officers routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information. 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 NPF said.
Highlighting the challenges officers face in the course of their job, the NPF regretted that blanket accusations against officers could undermine their work and bring down their moral.
“The Nigeria Police Force is made up of hundreds of thousands of officers who report for duty daily under difficult, underfunded, and often dangerous conditions, many of them at checkpoints exposed to the very criminal elements they are trying to keep off our roads.
“Sweeping public accusations that paint the entire Force as complicit in the crimes it exists to prevent are deeply demoralizing to these officers and unfair to the majority who serve with integrity.
“Where individual officers are found to have compromised their duty, they will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law. But an entire institution should not be condemned on the strength of a public statement made without evidence,” the NPF said.
The NPF extended invitation to VDM to bring before it the evidence on which he made the allegations.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Police Force hereby invites Mr. Martins Vincent Otse to produce, without delay, the evidence upon which he based these serious allegations, including any evidence that police personnel at checkpoints identify wealthy individuals and subsequently transmit information about them to kidnappers for the purpose of facilitating their abduction.
“Any such information will be treated with urgency and investigated thoroughly. We encourage any member of the public with credible evidence of officer misconduct to come forward through these channels rather than through public allegation alone, so that appropriate action can be taken,” the NPF said
The NPF restated its commitment to the investigation of all credible allegations.
“The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to transparency and accountability.
“We will continue to investigate all credible allegations of misconduct,however they arise, and we will not hesitate to act where wrongdoing is established.
“However, the sacrifices of our personnel and the integrity of the institution will not be casually diminished by unverified allegations.
“Anyone with credible evidence of misconduct should bring it forward through the appropriate channels for investigation in accordance with the law.
“The Force calls on members of the public to exercise responsibility in making and sharing allegations concerning national security institutions and to distinguish between legitimate criticism, which strengthens accountability, and unsubstantiated claims, which can endanger public trust and national security,” the NPF said.
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