- Why We Arrested VeryDarkMan’s Ratel Members – Police
- Residents contacted police after unfamiliar group members began a sanitation exercise.
- Police confirmed their intentions were genuine and subsequently released the members.
The Delta State Police Command has explained why members of social media activist VeryDarkMan’s Ratel Movement were apprehended while carrying out a sanitation exercise in Ibusa.
Members of the group had alleged that they were arrested while conducting their regular monthly community sanitation exercise.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that one of the members was heard saying, “They arrested us for cleaning Ibusa in Delta State.”
However, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, said preliminary findings showed that the group’s intentions were genuine.
Edafe explained that the situation arose because the Ratel Movement members entered a community where they were not known and began their activities without informing the police or community leaders.
According to him, residents who did not recognise the group became suspicious and contacted the police.
“From findings, they were doing community service. However, when you want to do community service in a place you are not known, it’s important to consult the leaders and inform the authorities like the police or community heads about your organisation and intention.
“The community didn’t recognise them, hence they invited the police,” Edafe wrote on X.
The police spokesperson said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) later interviewed the Ratel Movement members and confirmed that they were genuinely carrying out a community service exercise.
He added that the group members were subsequently released from the police station.
“The DPO interviewed them and discovered their intentions were genuine, and they were allowed to go. Not everything should be turned to content, please,” Edafe added.
The police explanation indicates that the Ratel Movement members were taken to the station following concerns raised by residents who were unfamiliar with the group and its activities, rather than because they were carrying out the sanitation exercise.
No charges were announced against the members after the police established the purpose of their presence in the community.
