Connect with us

News

EXCLUSIVE: Police IG Egbetokun Awards N6Billion Uniform Contract Split Into 66 Parts To ‘Inactive’ Firm With No BPP Tax Record

Published

on

Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters confirm the contract splitting and reveal that all the contracts were awarded to Messrs Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, a company registered under the names of Adedokun Olarotimi Aromolaran and Omolara Olufunke as directors.

 

Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, awarded a N6 billion police uniform contract—divided into 66 smaller parts—to a company listed as ‘inactive’ by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

 

Investigations by SaharaReporters revealed that the company, Messrs Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, has no tax compliance records on the Bureau of Public Procurement’s Federal Contractors Portal, despite being registered since March 10, 2006.

 

Further checks also showed that, although it is registered as a public limited company, Crown Natures Nigeria Plc is not listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and has not published any financial statements, as required by law.

 

As previously reported by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, the Inspector General allegedly awarded the entire N6 billion contract—split into 66 segments—to Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, a company reportedly linked to him, in apparent violation of the Public Procurement Act.

 

Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters confirm the contract splitting and reveal that all the contracts were awarded to Messrs Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, a company registered under the names of Adedokun Olarotimi Aromolaran and Omolara Olufunke as directors.

 

According to sources familiar with the matter, Egbetokun diverted the N6 billion from the police operational account’s budgetary sub-head into a private procurement arrangement for uniforms.

 

The funds were funnelled to a single company through a process that violated procurement regulations.

 

“As IGP, his approval threshold is N100 million. Any amount above that requires ministerial approval, and anything exceeding N500 million must be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC),” one source explained, adding that the company is linked to Egbetokun.

 

To bypass these statutory procedures, Egbetokun resorted to contract splitting, which is prohibited under the Public Procurement Act. He divided the N6 billion uniform procurement into 66 separate contracts, all awarded to the same company, and began processing payments in instalments.

 

“The contracts were divided and awarded for similar tasks, which constitutes contract splitting—a clear violation of the Public Procurement Act,” a source said.

 

“It amounts to a gross abuse of the procurement process, even if police uniforms fall under restricted bidding,” the source added.

 

“No single company should be awarded all the contracts once they’ve been split like that. If one contractor is to handle the entire production, it should be through a single, consolidated contract.”

 

Sources further revealed that when the IGP directed the Director of Finance and Accounts to approve an initial N2 billion tranche, the director raised objections and cautioned him about the legal implications.

 

The DFA reportedly noted that it far exceeded the Inspector General of Police’s approval threshold of N100 million. However, sources disclosed that IGP Egbetokun overruled the concerns and insisted on the immediate disbursement of the controversial funds.

 

An internal police memo signed by Assistant Inspector General Adepoju A. Ilori (PAB) confirmed that the contractor applied for payments in accordance with the Public Procurement Act 2007 (as amended).

 

However, IGP Egbetokun sidestepped statutory procedures by deliberately splitting the contract into 66 parts to bypass procurement regulations — a practice expressly prohibited by law.

 

Further investigation by SaharaReporters revealed that on December 6, 2024, the Nigerian police made 15 separate payments to Crown Natures Nigeria Plc for similar uniform supply contracts. The total amount disbursed on that single day was N989 million.

 

Sources familiar with the transaction explained that the contract splitting was a deliberate strategy to bypass open competitive bidding and circumvent the Inspector General’s N100 million approval threshold, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability in procurement under Egbetokun’s leadership.

 

The award letters for some of the contracts carry references such as CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/715, CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/715, CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/715, CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/716, CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/719 and CQ:1200/DLS/PROC/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.13/719.

 

Each of the 66 contracts is valued between N45.7 million and N99.3 million—deliberately kept just below the N100 million threshold.

 

Descriptions of the items supplied include thousands of metres of Olive Green and Black (John Cross) materials for general distribution to various police commands across the South West, North Central, North West, and Kaduna State.

 

Some are listed as follows: Procurement of 7,600 Metres of Black (John Cross) Material for General Distribution to Kaduna State Command; Procurement of 5,700 Metres of Black (John Cross) Material for General Distribution; Procurement of 18,700 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 1; Procurement of 19,200 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 2; Procurement of 18,400 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 3; Procurement of 20,800 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 4; and Procurement of 21,000 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 5.

 

Others include Procurement of 22,500 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 7; Procurement of 22,800 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 8; Procurement of 21,950 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 9; Procurement of 19,800 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 10 and Procurement of 21,000 Metres of Dark Grey Material for General Distribution to Commands within Zone 11.

 

Approval for the first tranche of N2 billion was documented in a memo dated April 2, 2024, from AIG Adepoju A. Ilori to the Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA), Police Formations and Commands, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

 

The memo titled, ‘RE: Payment Of N2,000,000,000.00 Τo Crown Natures Nigeria Plc Observation And Request For Authorization To Process For Payment,’ refers to “Inspector-General of Police’s approval on memo No. CH:3900/PB/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.7/37 dated 19th March 19, 2024 and your letter dated 28th March, 2024 on the above underlined subject matter”.

 

Ilori urged the DFA to “expedite action on the payment process as approved by the Inspector-General of Police to enable the contractor/manufacturer of the customized Police uniform for operational and regular use early delivery of the items”.

 

-Sahara

Entertainment

Davido breaks silence after Grammy Award loss

Published

on

Five-time Grammy nominee, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has reacted after losing the Best African Music Performance category at the 68th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, United States.

 

The Afrobeats star shared a message of faith and resilience following the outcome of the ceremony, which took place on Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in California.

In a post on his Instagram page, Davido shared photos with his wife, Chioma, from the event and wrote, “Oluwa Dey my side,” alongside prayer and music emojis.
Hours later, he posted another set of pictures of himself and Chioma at the Grammys, reflecting on the loss in a longer caption.

“I said baby listen we lost again let’s not go ! she said ‘Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat’ we outside,” he wrote.
Chioma also reacted via her Instagram page, praising the singer, “You already know that you’re the perfect one, @davido,” she wrote, while sharing photos from the awards night.
Davido was nominated in the Best African Music Performance category at the 2026 Grammy Awards but lost to South African singer Tyla, who won with her song Push 2 Start.

Other nominees in the category included Burna Boy (Love), Ayra Starr and Wizkid (Gimme Dat), Davido (With You featuring Omah Lay), and Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin (Hope & Love).

The win marked Tyla’s second Grammy Award, following her first victory in 2024 for her hit single Water.

Speaking during the awards ceremony, the singer revealed that With You, featuring Omah Lay, almost did not make the final tracklist of his album 5IVE.
“Man, it’s so crazy because that song almost didn’t make the album. With You was not in anybody’s top five.
“And now look at it go. Every time I was performing it, my heart would just start beating like, what if I didn’t put this song?” he told OkayAfrica.

Davido also recounted how he learned about the Grammy nomination, saying the news came unexpectedly while he was in Dubai, days before his birthday.

“I was in the car, actually, checking a car, and then my phone rang. They were like, ‘Oh yeah, another nomination.’ I was like, wow. Thank God,” he said.

“With You” was released in April 2025 as the 17th track on Davido’s fifth studio album, 5IVE, and has since become one of his most successful recent records, surpassing 100 million streams on Spotify.

Despite the song’s success, Nigeria did not record a win at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Davido said he is now focused on touring and releasing new music.

He is also billed to perform at Coachella 2026, where he will be the only Nigerian artiste on the festival lineup, performing on April 11 and April 18, 2026, in Indio, California.

-Guardian

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Kunle Afolayan gives reasons to marry many women

Published

on

Nollywood filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, has stirred reactions after advising men to “marry many women” while reflecting on his upbringing in a polygamous home.

 

The actor and producer made the remarks at the watch party of Aníkúlápó: The Ghoul Awakens, with a clip from the event going viral on Tuesday.

Speaking at the event, Afolayan linked his existence and achievements to his late father’s decision to marry several wives.

“Without my father, there wouldn’t have been a KAP Village or even Kunle Afolayan. I am the seventh born of my father because my father had ten wives. For the men, marry many women, or rather be involved with many women. You know why? If my father didn’t, he would not have born me, and that is the honest truth. But today, a few of us are lifting his legacy. Life is short, death is constant. Nobody has life forever. Everybody has a period. Use your period,” he said.

While his daughter, Eyiyemi Afolayan, joined him on stage, the filmmaker compared his childhood experience with his relationship with his children.

“They are lucky. For her, staying by my side is luck. Do you know why? I couldn’t stand it with my father. My father didn’t know my school. My father didn’t know my date of birth. He did not know anything about me other than, ‘He is the son of that person.’ But today, I’m so proud of my father,” he added.

Afolayan also spoke about fatherhood.

“Sometimes when people say ‘Happy Father’s Day,’ I’m always saying whether he pays child support or not, he’s still a father. I have been going to court because I want to get a divorce. I don’t mind being in the witness box, and I experienced the shit, so that I can marry many wives,” he said.

He thereafter prayed for his daughter, praising her role in the series.

“Hephzibah, her mother is the one who gave her the name. I don’t care, but I am proud of you. You started with the film, you did the first season, and now with the second season, you did amazingly well. My good Lord will continue to increase you in wisdom, in knowledge, and in understanding. If this is your path, the good Lord will see you through.”
However, this is not the first time the filmmaker has spoken about his late father’s polygamous lifestyle.

In March 2021, Afolayan told BBC Pidgin that his father, Adeyemi Afolayan, who died in 1996, married 10 wives and had 25 children, a decision he said took a toll on the family.

“I would not want to marry many wives because my father had 10 wives and I knew what happened throughout that period. I knew that really distracted my father. In this age, nobody needs to tell you before you know what’s right,” he said at the time.

He also disclosed that growing up in a polygamous home affected bonding among the children due to language and other barriers.

Afolayan further narrated how he battled poverty in his early years, revealing that he once lived in a one-room apartment in Ebute-Metta and sometimes had to deal with flooding.

“I was born in Ebute-Metta and have lived in one-room apartment before that we even have to grapple with flood sometimes. It’s not shame to say have been poor before. But if you see how l made it, it’s a matter of consistency. My father was a very popular filmmaker and ordinarily, people would expect me to life the kind of live akin to Hollywood stars,” he said.

“But that wasn’t the case. How would one live such life when you’re living in a room with ten women. That doesn’t mean there was no love among us.”

He had advised young filmmakers to start with the little resources available to them while working towards their dreams.

 

-Guardian

 

 

Continue Reading

Article

Court adjourns Ganduje’s corruption trial to April 15

Published

on

A Kano State High Court has adjourned until April 15 the trial of former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and son, Abdullahi Umar, alongside five other defendants, over alleged misappropriation of public funds amounting to billions of naira.

 

The defendants are facing an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds. The remaining accused persons are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd.

At the resumed hearing, the prosecution told the court it was ready to proceed and drew attention to a motion dated November 24, 2025, seeking leave to file additional proof of evidence.

However, defence lawyers raised objections, informing the court that multiple applications were pending and must be resolved before the trial could continue.

Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, counsel to some of the defendants, said the defence had filed a motion dated July 17, 2025, seeking a stay of proceedings.
Adekunle Taiye-Falola, representing the third and seventh defendants, also referred to a separate motion dated May 23, 2025.
In addition, Muhammad Shehu, counsel to the fifth defendant, told the court that an affidavit had been filed notifying it of a pending application for stay of proceedings before the Court of Appeal.
Abubakar Ahmad, counsel to the sixth defendant, informed the court that he had filed a notice of preliminary objection and an application for extension of time to respond on points of law dated February 2, urging the court to fix a date for hearing.

Only Faruk Asekome, counsel to the eighth defendant, indicated readiness to proceed with the trial.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, adjourned the matter to April 15 for the hearing of all pending applications and preliminary objections.

The trial has suffered repeated delays due to legal challenges. The high court had earlier dismissed preliminary objections raised by the defence as “incompetent” and affirmed its jurisdiction to hear the case.
That ruling was appealed by the defendants, who argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. However, in October 2025, the Kano Division of the Court of Appeal struck out the appeal, citing failure to properly transmit the record of appeal.

-Guardian

Continue Reading

Trending