The Nigeria Police Force has refuted allegations of smuggling against its Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
In a statement released by Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, it was clarified that Egbetokun is not protecting a cartel involved in smuggling questionable new banknotes from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The statement dismissed the accusations as unfounded and a malicious attempt to damage the IGP’s reputation and the Force’s credibility.
The incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on August 26, 2023, has been thoroughly investigated, as stated by the Force spokesperson. The officers implicated in the incident – DSP Peter Ejike, Inspector Ekende Edwin, Inspector Esther Okafor, and Sergeant Talabi Kayode from Zone 7 Headquarters – have been found guilty and appropriately disciplined.
According to him, the officers, led by Inspector Esther Okafor on the instruction of DSP Peter Ejike, unlawfully arrested Andrew Ejah, an employee of FATFAD Cargo Nigeria Limited, who was conveying the cash sum of N74,950,000 on behalf of clients.
He stated that acting without authorisation, they detained Mr Ejah at the Zone 7 Headquarters, Abuja, and deliberately misrepresented the recovered amount as N31,790,000.
“The officers further demanded a percentage of the funds to suppress the case.
“Upon being contacted by the alleged owners of the money, the officers claimed that the sum they had recovered from the arrested suspect was N31,790,000, and requested a percentage of the money to jeopardise investigation and suppress the case.
“Outraged by their actions, the money owners petitioned the Force Headquarters, Abuja and the matter was directed to the IGP Monitoring Unit for investigation,” the statement said.
