Police Officers Arrested for Stealing ₦43m from Cargo Worker at Abuja Airport

The Nigerian Police Force has outlined how a group of officers illicitly seized ₦43,160,000 from a cargo worker at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja last year.

EKO HOT BLOG notes that in a statement released on Wednesday, the NPF’s Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Ogunjobi, detailed the incident, which took place in August 2023, and implicated Inspector Ekende Edwin, Inspector Esther Okafor, and Sergeant Talabi Kayode, all assigned to the Zone 7 Headquarters.

According to the NPF, the officers, led by Inspector Okafor and acting under the direction of DSP Peter Ejike, wrongfully arrested Andrew Ejah, an employee of FATFAD Cargo Nigeria Limited, who was transporting ₦74,950,000 for clients. The officers detained Ejah at the Zone 7 Headquarters without authorization, falsely reporting the recovered amount as ₦31,790,000 and demanding a percentage of the funds to suppress the case.

When contacted by the owners of the money, the officers claimed they had seized ₦31,790,000, requesting a share of the sum in exchange for halting the investigation. This prompted the owners to lodge a complaint with the Force Headquarters, which was subsequently referred to the IGP Monitoring Unit for further investigation.

During the investigation, the officers were found to have claimed that the ₦31,790,000 was the full amount they had recovered from Ejah. However, forensic analysis revealed that they had stolen part of the money, totaling ₦43,160,000, and attempted to cover their tracks by moving the stolen funds out of the FCT.

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The officers also spread false narratives and misinformation to various media outlets in an attempt to deflect attention from their misconduct. The NPF rejected recent media claims suggesting that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) was protecting a cartel involved in smuggling new banknotes. The Force denounced these allegations as unfounded and part of a deliberate campaign to damage the IGP’s reputation.

The officers involved in the crime have been suspended and will face legal and administrative proceedings. They were found guilty of misconduct, tampering with evidence, abuse of office, corruption, and criminal behavior. The NPF emphasized that such incidents undermine public trust and reiterated its commitment to ongoing reforms aimed at eliminating corrupt elements from the force.

The public and media were urged not to propagate the false narratives surrounding the case, which were intended to distract from the officers’ criminal actions.

“The Nigeria Police Force has noted with concern the recent allegations circulating in the media, suggesting that the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, is shielding a cartel accused of smuggling suspicious new banknotes from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The NPF categorically refutes these claims, condemning them as baseless and orchestrated attempts to tarnish the IGP’s reputation and the integrity of the Force.

“The incident in question, which occurred at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on August 26, 2023, has been thoroughly investigated. 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.

“These officers have been suspended, being found culpable of serious misconduct, tampering with exhibits, abuse of office, corrupt practice, illegal duty, and acts unbecoming of a police officer. The movement of such an amount of money by the alleged cargo company could have been investigated and handled professionally by the police, but the officers were carried away by greed and therefore acted criminally and unprofessionally.

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“It is pertinent to note that the circulating false narrative is a sponsored misinformation cultivated by mischief makers who seek to divert attention from the criminal acts of the police officers by attempting to join issues with the Inspector-General of Police. The affected officers will be prosecuted upon conclusion of due legal and administrative procedures,” the statement added.

The NPF urged the public and the media to refrain from spreading this false narrative aimed at tainting the reputation of the Inspector-General of Police.

It said such misinformation undermines public trust and detracts from the ongoing efforts of the current administration to reform the Police Force by eradicating unprofessional elements.

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