The Nigeria Police Force has suspended four officers for stealing N43.16m from a total of N74.95m recovered during an unauthorised arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The police dismissed allegations that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, was shielding a cartel accused of smuggling suspicious new banknotes from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The suspended officers are DSP Peter Ejike, Inspector Ekende Edwin, Inspector Esther Okafor, and Sergeant Talabi Kayode, who were attached to Zone 7 Headquarters.
Inspector Okafor led the arrest of Andrew Ejah, an employee of FATFAD Cargo Nigeria Limited, who was transporting cash on behalf of clients in August 2023.
The policemen were said to have reported only N31.79 million as the recovered sum, hiding the remaining N43.16 million.
Following a petition by the owners of the money, the issue was elevated to the IGP Monitoring Unit.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by Force spokesman ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, investigations found that the officers colluded to steal a portion of the cash and attempted to cover their tracks by citing technical faults with evidence and propagating false narratives.
He said, “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 the 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.
“During the process, the cash sum of N31,790,000 was recovered from the officers, who claimed that it was the total money recovered from Andrew Ejah during his arrest.
“After intense investigations and a series of trials before duly constituted disciplinary panels, it was discovered that the officers took photographs of the suspect and the sacks of money at the point of arrest but claimed the phone they used was damaged and subsequently lost in an attempt to conceal their misconduct.
“However, forensic intelligence showed that this group of officers conspired and stole part of the money, amounting to N43,160,000, and tasked one of them to move the cash out of the FCT for hiding pending when the heat would blow over.
“They, thereafter, resorted to several tricks and gimmicks to cover their tracks. One was the spread of this false narrative and misinformation to several online blogs and newspaper platforms.
“These officers have been suspended, being found culpable of serious misconduct, tampering with exhibits, abuse of office, corrupt practice, illegal duty, and acts unbecoming of a police officer.”
Furthermore, Adejobi condemned what he described as a “sponsored misinformation campaign” aimed at implicating the IGP in the scandal.
He said, “It is pertinent to note that the circulating false narrative is a sponsored misinformation cultivated by mischief makers who seek to divert attention from the criminal acts of the police officers by attempting to join issues with the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. The affected officers will be prosecuted upon conclusion of due legal and administrative procedures.
“We urge the public and the media to refrain from spreading this false narrative aimed at tainting the reputation of the Inspector-General of Police. Such misinformation undermines public trust and detracts from the ongoing efforts of the current administration to reform the Police Force by eradicating unprofessional elements.”
