Martins Vincent Otse, the social media activist known as VeryDarkMan, has urged Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to launch an inquiry into a police officer recently seen in a viral video. The officer allegedly demanded a bribe from a driver and made disparaging remarks regarding the Igbo ethnic group.
In the footage, the driver complied with a routine stop by providing his documentation. Despite the documents being valid, the officer withheld the driver’s licence and implied that the motorist should offer a bribe to continue his journey. The officer was heard suggesting that he would have been more aggressive had the driver been from another ethnic background, specifically mentioning the Igbo people.
VDM criticized these actions, asserting that the officer’s behavior was discriminatory and violated the standards expected of public servants. He argued that the officer was effectively suggesting that driver’s licences are useless, and that motorists should simply carry small cash denominations to pay off police at checkpoints. The activist warned that failing to address such misconduct promotes both systemic extortion and ethnic profiling.
The Nigeria Police Force has yet to release an official response regarding the incident or the allegations presented by VDM.
