The Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, is facing a growing storm of allegations after an investigation revealed he allegedly oversaw the division of a N6 billion police uniform procurement contract into dozens of smaller deals, all funnelled to a single company with reported personal ties to him — a move critics say is a blatant circumvention of Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act.
Documents exclusively seen and corroborated by multiple senior sources within the Nigerian Police Force, suggest that the IGP allegedly orchestrated a systematic contract-splitting scheme designed to bypass statutory approval thresholds and open bidding requirements.
According to procurement regulations enshrined in the Public Procurement Act 2007 (as amended), the Inspector General is permitted to approve contracts up to N100 million. Any project exceeding that sum requires the sign-off of the Minister of Police Affairs, while contracts above N500 million must be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for final approval. However, in what sources describe as a calculated move, Egbetokun allegedly fragmented the uniform procurement into 66 separate contracts, each valued just under the N100 million limit — with some as low as N45.7 million.
Despite the supposed independence of each contract, all 66 were awarded to Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, a company linked to Adedokun Olarotimi Aromolaran and Omolara Olufunke, who are reportedly known associates of the police chief. This alleged monopolisation has sparked concern over transparency, abuse of office, and the continued erosion of trust in Nigeria’s public procurement process.
“This is not only contract splitting — which is explicitly prohibited under the law — but it also raises serious questions of conflict of interest and abuse of power,” said a senior police source familiar with the internal workings of the deal.
The controversy deepened after internal memos and payment records reviewed by The Telegraph revealed that on December 6, 2024, the police issued 15 separate payments to Crown Natures Plc for nearly identical uniform contracts — totalling N989 million in a single day.
In a memo dated 2 April 2024, signed by Assistant Inspector General Adepoju A. Ilori, the Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA) was formally requested to process a N2 billion tranche to Crown Natures Nigeria Plc. The DFA, according to insiders, had earlier raised objections, warning that the sum exceeded the IGP’s legal threshold and lacked required ministerial clearance.
Nevertheless, Egbetokun allegedly overruled the objections and insisted on immediate disbursement. The internal communication, titled ‘RE: Payment of N2,000,000,000.00 to Crown Natures Nigeria Plc – Observation and Request for Authorization to Process for Payment’, referenced prior approval from the Inspector General and urged the DFA to fast-track the payment to ensure “early delivery” of uniforms for operational use.
Descriptions of the supplied items listed in the documents include thousands of metres of Olive Green and Black (John Cross) fabric for distribution across various police commands in the South West, North Central, North West, and Kaduna State. While uniform procurement is standard within the force, critics argue that the method and manner of this particular deal set a troubling precedent.
“It is clear from the pattern of payments, the timing, and the single-source beneficiary that this was a carefully orchestrated process,” said one procurement analyst in Abuja. “The law exists to prevent precisely this kind of manipulation — where an official allegedly attempts to exploit their office to funnel public money into private or connected hands.”
A further examination of award letters linked to the deal reveals coded references, such as CQ:6800/DT-SFHQO/ABJ/VOL 89/946 and CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/717, showing a complex paper trail meant to disguise the interconnected nature of the contracts.
One senior official within the Ministry of Police Affairs, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration with the lack of internal accountability mechanisms, noting that the alleged breach may have gone unnoticed without whistleblower intervention and access to internal documents.
As the allegations continue to swirl, calls for an independent investigation have grown louder. Anti-corruption watchdogs have urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to commission a full-scale audit of police procurement practices and bring in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to determine if criminal offences have occurred.
The Nigeria Police Force has yet to issue an official statement in response to the growing controversy. Attempts to reach IGP Egbetokun for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
Legal experts warn that if the allegations are substantiated, the consequences could be severe. “This is not a minor infraction,” said a Lagos-based constitutional lawyer. “We are talking about alleged procurement fraud, financial impropriety, and potential abuse of public office at the highest levels of national security. It cannot be swept under the rug.”
For now, the Inspector General remains in post, but the scandal has cast a long shadow over his leadership — one that may only grow darker as the facts continue to surface.
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