The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has filed criminal charges against retired Commissioner of Police Benneth Igwe and four other senior former officers of the Nigeria Police Force for allegedly falsifying their age records to unlawfully extend their years of service. Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court has fixed their arraignment for Thursday, September 25, 2025, on a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and misconduct.
The other accused officers are Idowu Owohunwa, retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police; Ukachi Opara, retired Commissioner of Police; Obo Ukam Obo, retired Deputy Commissioner of Police; and Simon Lough, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police. Court filings also mention “others at large” suspected of manipulating official records.
According to the charge sheet, Igwe is specifically accused of altering his birth year from 1964 to 1968 and presenting conflicting enlistment dates of 1988 and 1996. Owohunwa allegedly changed his date of birth in December 2024 from July 20, 1967, to July 20, 1970, while Lough is accused of modifying his birth date from May 14, 1967, to May 14, 1969, in July 2022—actions said to violate Nigeria’s Public Service Rules.
The offences, cited under Sections 97, 161, 366, and 158 of the Penal Code, carry serious legal consequences. The accused, however, have dismissed the case as politically motivated, linking it to a petition filed in January 2025 by the Integrity Youth Alliance led by Kelvin Adegbenga, which alleged that the officers tampered with their service records to prolong their tenure.
Following the petition, the police hierarchy issued queries for serious misconduct on January 7, 2025. Owohunwa admitted to a “mix-up” in his APER Form that mistakenly reflected his birth year as 1970 but maintained his official appointment date of August 15, 1996, was never altered. Igwe and Lough, on their part, denied any wrongdoing, insisting the petitioner confused their records with the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) upgrade scheme.
Despite these defences, the police authorities have maintained that the discrepancies are grave enough to warrant prosecution, stressing that the case is a matter of integrity and adherence to public service regulations.
