Ajiran Murder Case: Police Integrity Group Accuses VDM of Manipulation, Gives Reason
- The Police Integrity Organisation held a press briefing in Abuja accusing VDM of misrepresenting facts in the Ajiro community murder case
- PIO convener Isaiah Davies Ijele claimed two arrested suspects confessed to being promised N500,000 each and foreign trips as reward
- The group challenged VeryDarkMan to an open debate, alleging the activist had already backed out of one he had previously requested
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A civic group backing the Nigeria Police Force has publicly accused popular activist and social media personality Vincent Otse Martins, widely known as VeryDarkMan or VDM, of deliberately shielding suspects in a 2023 double murder in the Ajiro community in Lagos State.
The Police Integrity Organisation (PIO) made the accusation on Wednesday, August 14, during a press briefing in Abuja titled "Setting The Record Straight on the Nigerian Police vs VeryDarkMan Ongoing Nuisance."
Source: Original
Isaiah Davies Ijele, the group's convener, described PIO as an independent civic stakeholder body focused on police accountability and institutional reform.
He alleged that VDM had been publicly defending one Ahmed Tajudeen, whom investigators believe coordinated the killings and who has since been arrested alongside two other men.
Ajiro murder case background
Ijele said the 2023 killing of two men in the Ajiro community had gone uninvestigated under previous Lagos State Commissioners of Police until AIG Moshood Jimoh, then serving as Commissioner of Police for Lagos, took up the case on the direct instruction of Inspector General of Police Olatunji Disu.
"The only crime of the AIG was his resolve to investigate the matter as instructed by the Inspector General of Police and fish out the culprits behind the killings, unlike his predecessors who failed to do so," Ijele said.
He claimed two of the four men arrested in connection with the killings had confessed to being promised trips abroad or similar rewards, plus N500,000 cash each, for carrying out the act.
He also raised questions about how a messenger linked to Tajudeen reportedly became chairman of the Road Transport Workers union in Aja, Lagos, shortly after the murders, calling it "part of the rewards they were promised for the dirty job they carried out."
PIO challenges VDM to debate
Ijele accused VDM of misrepresenting a Federal High Court ruling that restrained police from arresting Tajudeen, arguing the order only addressed his fundamental human rights and did not amount to full exoneration. He added that the police had begun the process of appealing the relevant part of the judgment.
The convener said VDM had initially accepted a public debate challenge but had since failed to appear, which he described as evidence of manipulative intent.
He also questioned why the activist had not responded to separate invitations from police authorities in Lagos and Abuja to present his evidence.
Another PIO executive, Unekwu Ocheje, said VDM had relied on a single source before making public pronouncements about the police and AIG Jimoh, and urged Nigerians to verify claims made on social media independently.
Social commentator Sergent Mario, who also addressed the briefing, warned that social media should not replace the courts. "Social media is not the court of law," he said, urging anyone with evidence to take it through the appropriate legal channels.
Ijele closed by commending the Inspector General of Police for what he called meticulous handling of the investigation and assured the public that evidence would emerge at the right time.
Ajiran Murder: Police say case must be resolved in court
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Tuesday, August 4, reaffirmed that the criminal case linked to the Ajiran murders remains before a court of competent jurisdiction and should be allowed to proceed without interference from public campaigns or media commentary.
Source: Legit.ng
