Inspector-General of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has filed charges against five retired senior officers of Nigeria Police Force (NPF), accusing them of falsifying their ages to unlawfully extend their years in service.
Gatekeepers News reports that the case, filed before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, has been assigned to Justice Yusuf Halilu, who has scheduled the arraignment of the defendants for September 25.
The 14-count charge names Idowu Owohunwa, a retired assistant inspector-general of police; Benneth Igwe and Ukachi Opara, both retired commissioners of police; Obo Ukam Obo, a retired deputy commissioner of police; and Simon Lough, a retired assistant commissioner of police. The filing also made reference to others at large.
Court documents allege that Owohunwa, in December 2024, submitted a false declaration of age in Abuja, stating that he was born on July 20, 1970, instead of his actual birth year.
Investigators also accuse Igwe of altering his records to reflect October 7, 1968, as his date of birth, while evidence suggested he was born in 1964. His enlistment details were said to contain discrepancies, showing both 1988 and 1996 as entry years.
Similarly, Lough is accused of tampering with his age records in July 2022, changing his date of birth from May 14, 1967, to May 14, 1969. Police authorities said the alleged offences contravene the public service rules and are punishable under sections 97, 161, 366, and 158 of the Penal Code.
The accused officers, however, denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the case as malicious and politically driven. They argued that the charges followed a petition submitted by the Integrity Youth Alliance, a civil society group led by Kelvin Adegbenga, which accused them of manipulating their records for personal gain.
Following the petition, the IGP issued formal queries on January 7, 2025, citing serious misconduct. In his January 16 response, Owohunwa admitted that a clerical error in his APER form for senior officers had wrongly listed his birth year as 1970 instead of 1967, but maintained that his appointment date of August 15, 1996, was correct.
Igwe and Lough also defended themselves, insisting the petitioners had misinterpreted their records, confusing them with the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) scheme, a system that allows for officer upgrades and effectively resets service timelines.
