IGP Egbetokun’s tenure has expired — Sowore insists

A human rights activist and the convener of the #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, on Wednesday, protested against the continuous stay in office of Kayode Egbetokun as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and called for his immediate removal.

Leading a protest to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, Sowore said Egbetokun has to leave the office of the IGP, saying that his tenure expired in September 2024.

ALSO READ: ‘N750m Jewelry theft’: Sowore slams Patience Jonathan for prosecuting domestic staff

He said the increasing insecurity in the country was a pointer that Egbetokun can no longer function as the IGP and needs to give way for “new blood who will effectively fight insecurity in the country.”

According to Sowore, the constitution provides that the retirement age of any civil servant is 60 years of age or 35 years of service, which he said Egbetokun has passed.

He said Egbetokun has to leave the office to pave the way for the appointment of a deserving Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police to the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The former presidential aspirant said, “We stand with the well-being of the police, and if the police misbehave, they will hear from us. No Nigerian’s rights should be violated by the police, and the well-being of the police must be taken seriously.”

While kicking against tenure elongation for the IGP, the human rights activist said Egbetokun should be made to refund to the federal government all the salaries and allowances he received from September last year until the date his tenure elapsed.

“IGP Egbetokun should leave so that new blood can lead the Nigerian Police Force”, he said and added that the country is deteriorating in terms of security.

It would be recalled that Sowore is being prosecuted by the Nigeria Police Force on charges of cybercrime before Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Sowore had honoured the invitation of the police on Monday, January 27, 2025, when he was questioned at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja and subsequently granted administrative bail, but rejected the conditions of bail and remained in custody.

The police later filed a 16-count charge of cybercrime against him, wherein he was alleged, in count three, to have, on December 20, 2024, through his X handle, called the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ‘the illegal IG of Nigeria Police Force’.

Sowore is being accused by the Police of posting the picture of Egbetokun on his X handle with the caption, “Mediocrity, incompetence, corruption—a country run by characterless people can not make progress.”

The police also said that Sowore, through his X handle, said, “IGP Kayode Egbetokun will destroy the Nigeria police if we don’t act now.”

He pleaded not guilty to all 16 counts of alleged cybercrime charges preferred against him by the police.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE