The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has rejected allegations by social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VDM, that some police officers provide information to bandits and rent firearms to criminals.

The Force said the allegations were serious and required credible evidence, urging Otse to produce the information supporting his claims.

In a statement on Thursday, the NPF spokesperson, Ani Iniedu, said the “gravity” of the allegations demanded a corresponding standard of evidence, which had not been provided.

Otse had made the allegations during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference on Tuesday, where he criticised the welfare and remuneration of police officers.

“There is no welfare for them (police officers). Instead of protecting us, they turned on us. They pass information to the bandits. They even rent their guns to them sometimes,” he alleged.

Responding to the claims, Iniedu said sweeping accusations against police officers who risk their lives to protect Nigerians were demoralising and unfair to personnel who perform their duties with integrity.

“The Nigeria Police Force firmly rejects these allegations as unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to an institution entrusted with the protection of millions of Nigerians,” the statement reads.

“Allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.

“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.”

The police spokesperson, however, acknowledged that individual officers found to have compromised their duties would face disciplinary action and prosecution where necessary.

“Where individual officers are found to have compromised their duty, they will face the full weight of internal discipline and the law,” Iniedu said.

“But an entire institution should not be condemned on the strength of a public statement made without evidence.”

The Force subsequently invited Otse to submit the evidence behind his allegations, including his claim that police officers at checkpoints identify wealthy individuals and pass their information to kidnappers to facilitate abductions.

“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,” the statement said.

The police said any evidence submitted would be treated as urgent and investigated thoroughly.

It also urged members of the public with credible evidence of police misconduct to report such cases through appropriate channels to enable investigations and necessary action. (Arise News)