ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the promotion of 93 senior police officers to higher ranks following their successful participation in the recently concluded written examination and oral interview conducted at the Commission’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.

The promotions were approved during the Commission’s plenary meeting held on Wednesday at its headquarters in Abuja.

PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, disclosed the development in a statement, noting that the promotions formed part of key decisions reached at the meeting.

According to the statement, 13 Commissioners of Police (CPs) were elevated to the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG).

The promoted officers are Itam Nnaghe Obono, CP, Counter Terrorism Unit; Bassey Samuel Ewah, CP, Plateau State Command; Osagie John Agans-Irabor, CP, FCID Lagos; Monday Agbonika, CP, Edo State Command; Iyamah Daniel Adebor, CP, Bayelsa State Command; Isa Danladi Nda, CP, Abia State Command; Akaninyene Ezima, Director, NPF-NCCC; Livingstein Ikioye Orutugu, CP, Anambra State Command; Afegbua B. Rashid, CP, Cross River State Command; Edozie Hycenth Azuka, CP, AML/CFT, FCID; Haruna Alaba Yahaya, CP, Jigawa State Command; Emenari Ifeanyi Innocent, CP, Benue State Command; and Betty Enekpen Otimenyin, CP, Welfare.

The Commission also promoted 17 Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) to the rank of Commissioner of Police.

The newly promoted Commissioners of Police include Nelson Nwamanna, DC CID Zone 11; Bolanle A. Murtala, DC Operations, Ogun State; Danbaba Mohammed Labbo, DC Litigation; Ajayi Oluyemi, DC CID Zone 7; Oki Rita Oyintare, DC Gender; Ibrahim Umar Zungura, DC FCID Abuja; Iya Umar Mohammed, DC X-Squad, FCID Lagos; Darma Nuhu Na’Aliyu, DC CID Sokoto; Nuruddeen A. Sabo, DC Operations, Kaduna State; Tijjani Murtala, DC Operations, Jigawa State; Yakubu Mohammed, DC DFA Benue State; Ibrahim Lukunche Usman, DC Operations Zone 15; Akingbade C. Adeyinka, DC CID Ondo State; Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, DC Operations Bauchi State; Samuel Erale Ahmed, DC Community Safety; Adedeji Taiwo, DC ZCID Zone 1, Kano; and Zainab A. Pembi of the Force Intelligence Department (FID).

In the same exercise, 28 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) were promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

Among them are Ofili Felix, AC Procurement; Mohammed Baba-Mala, AC CSP DOPS, Force Headquarters; Deborah O. Benary, AC CID Ogun State; Mohammed Sani Musa, AC CID Maritime; Lot Garba Lantoh, Commanding Officer, 22 Police Mobile Force, Lagos; Ijeoma Princewill Onyema, AC Administration, Zone 6, Calabar; Oyedepo Olubisi, AC CID Enugu State; Amanyi Christopher, AC JTF Operations, Delta Safe, Bayelsa; and Regina Mbanefo, AC Zone 13, Anambra.

The PSC also approved the promotion of 33 Chief Superintendents of Police (CSPs) to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).

Those promoted include Mustapha Lawal, Second-in-Command, Area Command, Gumel; Gafar Ajayi Adeyanju; and CSP Nnamdi Lotanna Anabike, Divisional Police Officer, Central Police Station, Onitsha, among others.

In addition, the Commission confirmed the appointments of 162 Assistant Superintendents of Police II (ASP II) to the substantive rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police I (ASP I).

Chairman of the Commission, retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police Hashimu Salihu Argungu, congratulated the promoted officers and urged them to uphold professionalism, transparency and accountability in the discharge of their duties.

He also advised them to avoid involvement in civil matters, particularly land disputes, and to conduct themselves in a manner that would preserve their integrity and reputation.

“Guide your reputation and integrity. Let your actions speak for you and not against you,” Argungu said.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Independent Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has confirmed the arrest of the immediate past Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji.

According to a statement on Wednesday by the Commission, Nnaji was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with the assistance of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The ICPC explained that the former Minister was arrested based on a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court after ignoring several invitations to appear for investigative interviews.

The Commission confirmed that Nnaji is now in its custody for further investigation.

“ICPC has arrested the immediate past Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Hon. Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji (M), following the execution of a bench warrant issued by the Federal High Court of Nigeria.

“The arrest was effected on Wednesday, 1st July 2026 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, upon Mr. Nnaji’s arrival. He was apprehended with the assistance of the Department of State Services (DSS) and subsequently handed over to the ICPC for further investigation.

“The Commission had earlier extended formal invitations to the former minister through a letter referenced ICPC/HC/CSTF/GUN/GBT/T.1/VOLV16, dated 15 May 2026. The invitation notices were duly served to his known addresses in Abuja and Enugu, as well as his electronic mail address.

“Despite service through multiple channels, Mr. Nnaji failed to appear for investigative interviews on the scheduled dates, necessitating further legal action,” the statement read.

The ICPC had been on the trail of the former minister since he resigned from office last year following investigations into allegations that he forged his academic certificates.

Nnaji had earlier denied reports suggesting that a court ordered his arrest, insisting that he is neither in hiding nor evading law enforcement authorities.

Nnaji’s denial followed a recent publication by Premium Times on an alleged court order linked to an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Presidency has dismissed allegations of bribery levelled against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, describing them as false and the handiwork of a man allegedly posing as the Director-General of a non-existent government agency.

The Presidency was reacting to allegations made by the acclaimed Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council/Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi.

Adeyemi had accused Gbajabiamila of demanding ₦27.4 billion as a take-off grant for the agency and alleged that the Chief of Staff received ₦400 million through proxies to facilitate his appointment, with an outstanding balance of ₦200m.

The claimant had also urged President Bola Tinubu to constitute an independent panel to investigate the allegations and compel the Chief of Staff to step aside pending the outcome of the probe.

However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the allegations, accusing Adeyemi of peddling falsehood.

“We are aware of the public interest in the matter of a man called Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew, who has been parading himself as the director-general of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council cum Presidential Economic Advisory Council,” Onanuga said.

He explained that the Office of the Chief of Staff was the first to alert security agencies about the existence of the alleged fake agency after complaints were received from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission that another body appeared to be operating at cross-purposes with it.

“The office of the Chief of Staff to the President first blew the whistle on the existence of the illegal agency, following complaints from officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council that another government agency appeared to be functioning at cross-purposes with it,” he said.

According to Onanuga, Gbajabiamila, on October 17, 2025, wrote to the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force, requesting an investigation into individuals allegedly forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.

“The Chief of Staff, on October 17, in a letter, asked the DSS and the Police to probe the activities of ‘fraudsters and imposters’ forging appointment letters purportedly from his office.

“The letter to the security agencies was accompanied by a copy of the forged appointment letter, a copy of the request for a note verbal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and pictures of engagements obtained from the illegal agency’s website,” he stated.

Onanuga added that concerns over the purported agency had also been raised within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He disclosed that in a letter dated October 15, 2025, and signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike, the ministry sought clarification from the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff regarding the status of Adeyemi’s agency after he reportedly met with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Abuja without the ministry’s involvement.

He further explained that the Office of the National Security Adviser subsequently wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on October 20, while the OSGF later sought clarification from the Chief of Staff.

“On 29 October, the OSGF wrote to the Chief of Staff requesting clarification. ‘This has become expedient owing to several requests from governmental and non-governmental bodies seeking to ascertain the status of the appointment under consideration,’” Onanuga quoted.

The presidential spokesman maintained that Gbajabiamila had already informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that he never issued any appointment letter to Adeyemi.

“Two days earlier, the Chief of Staff sent his own clear rebuttal to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, stating that he had never issued an appointment letter to Adeyemi as director general of the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council.

“The Chief of Staff could not have issued a letter of appointment to a non-existent agency. Moreover, the Chief of Staff does not make appointments or write letters, as these are the exclusive preserve of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” he added.

Onanuga also cited findings from the police investigation, alleging that Adeyemi forged documents and falsely presented himself as a government appointee.

“The police were able to establish that the agency Adeyemi purportedly headed was fictitious, that he forged his appointment letter and the documents recovered in his office and home, that he falsely paraded himself as a government appointee, and that he falsely solicited a note verbal from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to enable him and his staff to obtain US visas,” he said.

According to him, investigators also discovered that Adeyemi allegedly operated 34 bank accounts, including nine opened in the names of fictitious agencies.

Onanuga said the police further found that Adeyemi allegedly used fake documents to fraudulently open a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

He, however, noted that investigators established that no government funds had been paid into the account.