The Nigeria Police Force has rejected claims by social commentator Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, that police checkpoints provide information to kidnappers and contribute to insecurity across the country.
The claim and the police response were made Tuesday during the 2026 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where Otse and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Safer Highway, Department of Operations, Silas Aremu, spoke during the same session.
Otse alleged that criminals monitor police checkpoints and receive information about motorists who pass through them, claiming such information could be used to identify potential kidnapping targets.
He also accused the government and security agencies of benefiting from the country’s insecurity, while ordinary Nigerians bear the consequences.
Responding directly at the conference, Aremu said there were roads across Nigeria where motorists could not safely travel without encountering police checkpoints.
The police commissioner acknowledged that checkpoints could be abused by bad elements within the force but rejected the claim that officers routinely check motorists and pass their information to criminals.
Aremu instead said criminals monitor police checkpoints and take advantage of their locations and activities.
He maintained that the presence of checkpoints should not be interpreted as evidence of collaboration between police officers and criminal groups, stressing that security personnel use the checkpoints as part of efforts to protect travellers on major highways.
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