Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Anambra State Police Command has issued a statement warning people of the state to dissociate themselves from being influenced by individuals parading themselves as human rights activists and influencers against activities of government in the state.
Police gave the warning following a trending video of one Mr Martins Vincent Otse popularly known as Verydarkman (VDM), who had threatened to lead a protest against the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the State.
Recall that NAFDAC, in March, 2025, shut the Onitsha drug market down and destroyed over one trillion naira worth of pharmaceutical products considered to be substandard and fake.
VDM, during a recent visit to the locked Onitsha Drug market, accused NAFDAC of theft, extortion and injustice, threatening to lead a protest that will unlock the market in two days.
The statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said that the action of NAFDAC was carried out in accordance with the directive of the Federal Government to rid markets of substandard products, warning that the actions of VDM are motivated by some persons in the market.
“The Anambra State Police Command wishes to alert Ndi-Anambra and residents to be aware of some individuals who engage in discussions about the State on social media under the guise of human rights activists, to incite the public against Government agencies, the Police, and other Security Agencies. The Command urges residents to resist such and disassociate themselves from any act that threatens public peace.
“The Command while noting that the action of NAFDAC was in line with the Federal Government directives to conduct a raid operation to remove unregistered, expired, banned, diverted donated drugs, substandard, falsified, and illicit narcotics and controlled substances from the three major Open Drug Markets (ODM) in the country.
“Anambra State happened to be one of the States where the Enforcement took place. Meanwhile, the Command has taken necessary steps to escalate the complaints of the traders for the agency’s necessary action.
“However, further discussion by the Command and the leadership of the market revealed that the alleged action of Verydarkman was motivated by some persons in the market, as the Leadership distanced themselves from such and pledged to work with the relevant agencies to identify the defaulters among them.”
In other developments, Ikenga said the Command, while still waiting for one Mr Harrison Gwamnishu to honour the Command’s invitation to provide answers on how five persons in transit through Anambra went missing while seeking accommodation in the State, has intercepted another trending broadcast by the same Mr Harrison allegedly exposing an illegal detention facility in the State.
“In as much the video is not a recent development, the Police Command has since addressed the unprofessional conduct of these Security Operatives after assisting the Security agencies in apprehending suspects and keeping them in their offices without transferring them to the nearest Police facility.”
He said the Command has observed that Mr. Harrison and Mr. Martins bypassed official channels, neglecting to contact the Police to express their concerns. He also said the pattern of behavior of the two suggests a deliberate attempt to undermine the Police and security agencies’ efforts to maintain peace and safety in the State.
Ikenga said after the Command’s critical threat analysis based on the information and intelligent reports of the individuals’ actions to cause tension in the State, the intended protest could be hijacked by criminals to wreak havoc.
He reassured that the Command will continue to live up to its mandate of ensuring that no person or group of persons is allowed to infringe on the fundamental human rights of others, especially the rights to freedom of movement and the dignity of human persons.
