The Nigeria Police Force has denied allegations of smuggling against its Inspector-General, Kayode Egbetokun.
According to a statement by Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, Egbetokun is not shielding a cartel accused of smuggling suspicious new banknotes from the Central Bank of Nigeria as being reported.
The statement described the report as baseless and orchestrated attempts to tarnish the reputation of the IGP and the integrity of the Force.
The Force image maker said the incident in question, which occurred at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on August 26, 2023, has been thoroughly investigated.
He added that the officers involved – DSP Peter Ejike (a lawyer in charge of Zone 7 Legal Section), Inspector Ekende Edwin, Inspector Esther Okafor, and Sergeant Talabi Kayode, all attached to the Zone 7 Headquarters were found culpable and sanctioned appropriately.
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.