Former Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun has claimed that the changes he implemented to sanitize the Nigerian Police Force while in service are the reason behind the string of media attacks on him by certain affluent people and organizations.
According to Naija News, Egbetokun said in an account of his term that certain affluent people impacted by the disciplinary actions had been collecting funds to support media efforts meant to undermine him.
He claimed that the pervasive falsification of service records inside the Force was one of the first issues he faced after taking office.
He claims that before to his appointment, some policemen allegedly paid money to falsify their official records in order to serve longer than the required number of years.
He clarified that his administration put an end to the practice and initiated inquiries that led to the identification of the scheme’s participants.
“I didn’t just stop the practice,” he declared. All of the offenders were eliminated from the system after we identified them and sent their names to the Police Service Commission for appropriate disciplinary action.
The former IGP also revealed that another contentious matter concerned a group of cadet force recruits who relied on a ruling from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to continue serving after their statutory term.
But according to Egbetokun, the inquiry showed that the court’s ruling was based on a signal that was allegedly sent through the Sokoto State Command from the Office of the Force Secretary.
“Our investigation confirmed that no such signal emanated from the Office of the Force Secretary,” he said. It was also discovered that the version presented in court by the organization and purportedly conveyed by the Sokoto Command was false.
“If we don’t enforce discipline within our own ranks, we can’t effectively enforce the law.”
According to Egbetokun, a number of false accusations and deceptive reports were disseminated to weaken his leadership while he was in government.
He also revealed that another group joined the campaign against him because they were dissatisfied with changes made to the Nigeria Police Act that allowed him to serve a four-year term.
He said that certain aspirational senior officials in the group thought they had a shot to become Inspector-General of Police if his character was tarnished.
Egbetokun emphasized that the organization intended to cause widespread destruction through the #EndSARS demonstration nationwide in order to compel a change of government. He also accused individuals associated with the “Take It Back Movement” of maintaining negative narratives about him and the police.
Egbetokun insisted that during the demonstrations, the police used legal action to stop violence and safeguard national stability.
“They boasted that the #EndSARS protest would be child’s play and even mentioned the 2024 mass protests in Kenya,” he continued.
On the two big occasions and on later attempts, we took all legal measures to prevent them. We thought it was in the best interests of Nigerians as a whole, given the nation’s socioeconomic vulnerability at the time.
“I stayed focused despite the media wars.” I am pleased with the progress we have made in improving Nigerian law enforcement for the benefit of the country’s quiet majority.
