The others are Grace O. Ejiofor, ACP Dakon Philip Sarpiwefa, CP Salama Wakili Abdul, CP Aina Emmanuel A., and Benneth Igweh C. Seven senior officers, including AIG Idowu Owohunwa and ACP Simon Lough, have been released from the Nigeria Police Force and are retiring. The others are Grace O. Ejiofor, ACP Dakon Philip Sarpiwefa, CP Salama Wakili Abdul, CP Aina Emmanuel A., and Benneth Igweh C.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
A police wireless message announcing this was issued to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), state commands, and zonal commands on March 4, 2025. It referenced the “Decisions of the Police Service Commission’s Extra Ordinary Meeting held on Thursday, February 20, 2025.”
“We are grateful to learn that the senior police officers listed below have retired from the Force,” it says. Dates of W.E.F. are listed next to their names. AP/NO. 50645 AIG Benneth Igweh C. X W.E.F X 01/05/2023 X ΑΡ/ΝO 41704 CP Idowu Owohunwa, W.E.F X 10/02/2025 X AP/NO 50703 CP W.E.F X 10/02/2025 X ΑΡ/ΝΟ 41741 CP Aina Emmanuel A. ACP 57917 X 26/02/2025 X AP/NO Wakili Abdul W.E.F. W.E.F. X 01/08/2022 X AP/NO 57894 ACP Simon A. Lough (SAN) Sarpiwefa, Dakon Philip, ΑΡ/ΝΟ 42600 ACP Ejiofor, Grace O.
Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Idowu Owohunwa was the most recent victim of Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s power consolidation, according to SaharaReporters on Wednesday. The IGP allegedly viewed Owohunwa as a “archenemy” and a danger to his prolonged tenure. Zone 12 Bauchi was overseen by AIG Idowu Owohunwa. According to sources, Owohunwa had already written his letter of retirement and was scheduled to be released shortly after he was not promoted to the position of Deputy Inspector General (DIG).
Owohunwa was removed because the Police Service Commission (PSC) refused to promote him. According to SaharaReporters, the Force was growing increasingly concerned about Egbetokun’s prolonged tenure in office, even though he was also serving past the retirement age of 60. Several senior officers were compelled to retire as a result of infractions like age fabrication and violations of service standards.
Officially retiring all of his classmates by March 3, 2025, Egbetokun has begun replacing them with new senior officers he thought would be loyal to him. Police sources have begun to wonder why the IGP himself continued to hold office despite imposing stringent retirement regulations on others, according to SaharaReporters. SaharaReporters discovered that the IGP had told multiple high-ranking officials in the presidency that, but for First Lady Remi Tinubu’s intervention—to whom he was reportedly quite close—he would have lost his job.
Egbetokun acknowledged that he just avoided being ousted from office with the support of President Bola Tinubu’s wife, according to people close to the administration. According to a senior government source, “the First Lady stepped in to save the IGP’s job.” “He is acting strategically to maintain his position and is more self-assured than ever now.”
Six Deputy Inspectors General of Police have been approved by the PSC to take the place of those who were recently forced to retire by police authorities, according to a report published by SaharaReporters on Tuesday. The retired DIGs were Dasuki Galandachi, Ali Ari Muhammed, Rhoda Adetutu Olofu, Jonathan Towuru (who represented the South-South geopolitical zone), Suleiman Yusuf, Banji Lawal Badru, and Bala Ciroma, according to an exclusive story published by SaharaReporters on Monday.
Egbetokun had ordered senior police officers who refused to retire to appear before a disciplinary committee, according to an exclusive report published by SaharaReporters on Monday night. On Tuesday, PSC Head of Press and Public Relations Ikechukwu Ani announced the appointment of six new Deputy Inspectors General of Police: Sadiq Idiris Abubakar, Benjamin Nebolisa Okolo, Williams Adebowale, Bzigu Yakubu Kwazi Bali, Idegwu Basil Ukuoma, and Adebola Ayinde Hamzat.
According to a top source, Egbetokun’s tenure has been controversial, with the National Assembly extending his tenure to postpone his retirement. “The IGP is now overjoyed and will eliminate his last ‘enemy’ AIG Idowu AIG Idowu Owohunwa next week as his retirement letter is now ready after he initially succeeded in warding off retirement from the police, even after it was revealed that he forged his age and service records,” the source said on Wednesday.
When Egbetokun turned 60, his original plan was to retire in September 2024. But in 2024, the National Assembly changed the Police Act to ensure that the Inspector General of Police would serve for a full four years, regardless of the normal civil service retirement age. The term of an IGP is calculated from the date of appointment under the amended law, which for Egbetokun was October 31, 2023. Despite continuing discussions regarding the amendment, his term was thus prolonged until October 31, 2027, allowing him to serve the entire four-year term.
Hundreds of top officers in the Nigeria Police Force refused to retire after it was discovered that they had fabricated their birth certificates, sparking a mutiny, according to an exclusive revelation by SaharaReporters. Tensions between IGP Egbetokun and some of the officers, notably Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Galandanchi, escalated after it was disclosed by sources that some of the officers had been in the force for as long as 44 years. Following the IGP’s exemption from retirement last year, Galandanchi had requested a two-year service extension, citing Egbetokun’s own extension as a precedent.
However, the police officials rejected the bid for an extension. According to two police signals that SaharaReporters was able to collect, Egbetokun ordered the replacement of some of the impacted policemen in February. In the meantime, all implicated individuals had received full approval from police superiors to retire. SaharaReporters also revealed that the IGP ordered officers to be posted and redeployed in order to replace those who were found guilty of age falsification, forgery, and other infractions of service rules.
However, the extension bid was denied by the police authorities. Two police signals obtained by SaharaReporters indicated that in February, Egbetokun ordered the replacement of some of the affected officers. Meanwhile, police authorities had fully approved the retirement of all implicated personnel. Additionally, SaharaReporters reported that the IGP directed the posting and redeployment of officers to replace those found guilty of forgery, age falsification, and other violations of service regulations.
About 467 officers, including Simon Lough, SAN, Benneth Igweh, and several others, were implicated in age falsification in a previously published list. The Police Service Commission (PSC) forced the retirement of numerous senior officers, including several Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs), and others, in accordance with Public Service Rules. This directive prompted the retirement of officers who had served for 35 years or who had reached the age of 60.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
