The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has dragged five senior police officers before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over alleged age falsification and manipulation of service records to illegally extend their stay in the Force.
The officers, who retired in various top ranks, are facing a 14-count charge bordering on forgery, misrepresentation, and conspiracy under sections 97, 161, 366, and 158 of the Penal Code. Their arraignment has been fixed for September 25, 2025, before Justice Yusuf Halilu.
Those named in the suit are Idowu Owohunwa, a retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG); Benneth Igwe and Ukachi Opara, both retired Commissioners of Police (CPs); Obo Ukam Obo, a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP); and Simon Lough, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). Some other officers are said to be “at large.”
The charges stemmed from a petition filed by the Integrity Youth Alliance, led by one Kelvin Adegbenga, accusing the officers of deliberately altering their birth records and entry dates into the police to extend their years of service. Acting on the petition, the IGP had on January 7, 2025, issued queries for serious misconduct, to which the accused responded in writing.
In one of the counts, Owohunwa allegedly altered his age declaration in December 2024, claiming he was born on July 20, 1970, instead of 1967. Igwe, in another count, was accused of listing October 7, 1968 as his birth date instead of the alleged real year, 1964. He was also found to have presented contradictory enlistment records, with one showing he joined the Force in 1988 and another in 1996.
ACP Lough was similarly accused of falsifying his birth year in July 2022, changing it from 1967 to 1969. Investigators insist that these adjustments were deliberately done to give the officers extra service years beyond the mandatory retirement age.
The defendants, however, maintain their innocence. Owohunwa admitted that there was a “mix-up” in his Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) Form, which wrongly changed his date of birth from 1967 to 1970, but insisted that his official appointment date remained August 15, 1996. Igwe and Lough also denied any wrongdoing, claiming the petitioners misinterpreted their records, which they linked to the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) conversion scheme.
Despite their denials, the Federal Government insists that the charges are weighty and warrant prosecution to serve as a deterrent to serving and future officers who might consider manipulating official records for personal gain.
The case has already attracted wide public attention, raising concerns over integrity and accountability in the Nigerian Police Force, especially at the highest levels of leadership.
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