By Our Crack Investigative Team

The rife speculation of health challenge of the Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, is said to be the current grave concern to many senior police officers – serving and retired.

Discrete investigations by our crack team of investigators reveal that, the alleged health challenge of Egbetokun is an “open secret” to most police officers in all the state police commands in the country.

The SUPREME could not officially confirm the real ailment. Also, the Medical Officer of the Force could not be reached for confirmation and/or clarification.

However, two different medical doctors who spoke under strict anonymity explained that, “anybody who has such an ailment cannot do hard job.”

Our investigations further reveal that, due to the alleged health challenge of IGP Egbetokun he does not spend more than five hours a day in the office. A former management team of the Force disclosed that, “we don’t normally start our Monday management meetings until 1pm or 2pm instead of 10am. And by 5pm he (Egbetokun) has closed. It is true that he does not go to the office until 1pm or 2pm, and closes before 7pm. We (management staff) are aware of his health challenge.”

Those who spoke to The SUPREME under strict anonymity, across the country, urged IGP Egbetokun to “resign”.
“We can’t loose an IG in office. It has not happened before. And we don’t want it to happen to him.”

Other officers who spoke under strict anonymity said, “many of us have heard of his health challenge. It’s no longer a secret.”
From state’s commands: “What is he still doing there, does he want to die in office?”
“He should resign. Let him go and rest. He has made money to take care of his life. We can’t lose an IG in office. Last year November 2024, the country loss Chief of Army Staff, ( Lt General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja over health challenge.) It does not speak well of the country that a serving IG dies due to a health challenge. The international community will mock us.”
A retired DIG (names withheld) alleged, “He didn’t want to go (retire), will he be there forever? Will he be richer than Dangote when he eventually leaves?”

However, another retired DIG from the North said, “if he (IGP Egbetokun) feels his health can allow him to work, and control crime in the country, let him continue.”

We leant that the worsening insecurity in the country, resulting in untimely deaths of several policemen and military personnel almost on daily basis, are overwhelming the IGP and contributing negatively to his health.

Apart from his alleged health challenge, we gathered that, most police officers are unhappy with IGP Egbetokun’s continued stay in office. They jeered that, “he has outlived his usefulness; we don’t need him anymore, whether he is sick or not,” a serving officer said. Another officer alleged that, the police management team under IGP Egbetokun is not taking their welfare into cognisance. In addition, there are complaints nationwide that, their ” lives are in danger” due to a lack of protective working tools.
A groused officer lamented: “what is our IG doing with all the monies President Tinubu approved for the Police?’

Chronicling Egbetun’s lack of concern for the welfare of policemen, one of them recalled the gruesome murder of about 16 policemen early last year 2024, in a forest in Ughelli, Delta State. The officer claim that the IGP concealed the gruesome murder of their colleagues from the public and from the presidency until the media alerted the public after the policemen’s bodies had decomposed.

In addition, they lamented that, “even allowances they are giving us cannot feed us for a days. Imagine, some are given N3,000, some N5,000, depending on rank with the bad economy,” a Mobile Police officer (names withheld) lamented.

The SUPREME learnt that, several policemen were among those gruesomely murdered in Plateau State. A senior officer who pleaded strict anonymity disclosed that, “what they gave those boys as allowances is nothing. And you expect them to risk their lives.”
Another officer accused IGP Egbetokun of a lukewarm attitude to curb insecurity. The officer lamented with deep concerns that, “if the IG is an experienced police officer, he ought to have deployed detectives to trouble some states to gather intelligence on anticipated attacks. He went to Jo’s after much killings had taken place. It’s unfortunate,” the senior officer lamented.

The SUPREME further learnt that, IGP Egbetokun is involved in money running into billions of Naira quarterly, for operations nationwide through the Budget Office, but that the money is not equitably disbursed.

We were unable to reach the AIG Budget AIG Mohammed Abdul Suleiman to confirm if he actually fills withdrawal vouchers running into billions of Naira for IGP Egbetokun to approve.

DANGER
Discrete investigations also reveal that, junior police officers may be warming up for a nationwide strike to drive home their grievances of lack of welfare and operational tools. It will be recalled that, the rank and file of the Police on February 1, 2002 took the nation by surprise, when they embarked on a nationwide strike. The striking officers were protesting poor service conditions, including prolonged arrears and stagnation on one rank for years. The Federal Government had watched helplessly as the police officers held the nation into a standstill.

That action cost the then Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Musiliu Smith his job. President Olusegun Obasanjo had to relieve him of his appointment.

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