In a statement shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Sowore traced the allegations to his experience in detention at Kuje Prison, Abuja, following his arrest in October 2025 over the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest.
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has accused the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun of providing protection for Ponzi scheme operators and fraudsters.
In a statement shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Sowore traced the allegations to his experience in detention at Kuje Prison, Abuja, following his arrest in October 2025 over the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest.
He recalled how he spent four days at Kuje Correctional Centre after being arrested and charged on the orders of the “illegal Inspector-General of Police.”
Sowore also recalled that he was not initially arrested when police cracked down on participants in the protest, including Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s brother Prince Kanu, a priest, and several others.
According to him, he only became a target after he visited the detainees at the FCT Police Command in an attempt to secure their release on bail.
He alleged that the situation escalated after a SaharaReporters investigation exposed what he described as an embarrassing incident involving Pastor Jerry Uchechukwu Eze’s visit to the IGP’s office.
Sowore alleged that the cleric was pressured to delete a photograph showing him with Egbetokun and senior police aides, including ACP Bukola Kuti, the IGP’s Personal Staff Officer, figures he said were linked to a controversial promotion scandal.
According to Sowore, as he was being taken into detention by CSP Ilyasu Barau at the Anti-Vice Section of the FCT Police Command, the officer repeatedly warned him to stop referring to Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP” and to cease publishing reports about the police chief’s alleged personal relationships.
Sowore said his lawyer, Tope Temokun, witnessed the exchange.
He further alleged that despite being granted bail by a Magistrate, the judicial officer was abruptly removed from the matter.
Sowore recalled how in a dramatic turn of events, CSP Barau physically assaulted him within the court premises in Kuje to ensure he was forcefully remanded in custody, even though the bail process had already been concluded.
It was during his time in Kuje Prison, Sowore said, that he encountered a man identified as Jesam Michael, the operator of a large-scale Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded thousands of Nigerians.
"What he told me was both astonishing and revealing,” Sowore stated.
"Jesam claimed that IGP Egbetokun personally provided him with an office inside the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, where he operated freely.”
According to Sowore’s account, Michael alleged that he “served” and financially supported police officers and had access to a dedicated police unit that carried out arrests on his behalf.
"With this unit, he allegedly arrested his victims and sent them to prison on cyberstalking charges simply because they demanded refunds for their stolen money,” Sowore said Michael told him.
"Even more disturbing, Jesam alleged that his properties were shared among senior police officers.”
Sowore said that Michael told him that DIG Dasuki Galandanchi (retired) collected ₦250 million to ensure that the victims of the Ponzi scheme were silenced and prevented from seeking justice.
According to Sowore, Michael said he enjoyed police protection throughout the period of his alleged fraud and that he had a personal relationship with a female police officer assigned to investigate his case, an affair he said contributed to his eventual exposure and downfall.
Sowore stated that Michael only ended up in prison after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) took over the investigation.
"I am saying all of this to make it clear that Nigeria does not technically have an Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force, even as someone acting in an illegal capacity, you would expect a bit of honor attached to the office,” Sowore said.
"What we have instead is a mercenary, an enforcer serving the corrupt, the deadly, and the cruel political, business, and criminal class.”
He referenced a photograph showing IGP Egbetokun in a friendly setting with Nzube Ikeji, a man recently arrested for fraud and scamming a Romanian woman of more than $2.5 million by posing as the Prince of Dubai.
This follows a report by SaharaReporters on Friday alleging that Egbetokun ordered an emergency digital clean-up to erase online traces linking him to Nigerian socialite Ikeji, who is accused in an international fraud scheme involving impersonation of the Dubai Crown Prince.
Multiple senior police sources, who spoke to SaharaReporters on Thursday on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, claimed that Egbetokun acted swiftly after news of Ikeji’s alleged involvement in a $2.5 million fraud became public.
According to the sources, the IGP was in Lagos when reports about Ikeji began circulating widely.
He reportedly cut short his stay in the state and returned abruptly to Abuja, where he summoned officers of the Force Information Technology Department along with several senior police officials for an emergency meeting.
“The moment the story broke, the IGP left Lagos for Abuja,” one top police source told SaharaReporters. “He called the IT department and senior officers and told them clearly that some officers were leaking information to SaharaReporters. There was panic everywhere.”
The source explained that the IGP ordered an internal probe to identify officers suspected of speaking to the media, while at the same time directing urgent steps to sanitise his digital footprint.
“They track conversations. The police have gadgets to monitor the communications of top officers,” the source claimed. “The IGP does not want SaharaReporters to report anything about this matter because Ikeji came last year and gave him money and gifts.”
Another senior police officer said that Egbetokun specifically instructed the IT unit and external social media handlers to remove all photographs and posts linking him to Ikeji, particularly on Instagram.
“He informed the IT department to delete all the pictures he appeared in with Ikeji,” the source said.
A separate source corroborated this claim, alleging that professional social media experts were engaged to carry out a digital clean-up operation.
“I can confirm to you that all the posts on Instagram have been deleted,” the source told SaharaReporters. “This is why they started damage control immediately after the viral documentary published by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).”
The OCCRP documentary reportedly detailed how a Nigerian man impersonated a Dubai royal to defraud a Romanian woman of approximately $2.5 million.
In May 2025, 79-year-old grandmother Hajia Collen Mero Yesufu called on IGP Egbetokun to stop shielding his alleged associate, Rebecca Omokamo Godwin Isaac, also known as Becky or Bilikisu Ishaku Aliyu, from investigation and prosecution over alleged land fraud.
Speaking through her lawyer, Barrister Maxwell Opara, Mero accused the police chief of providing protection to Bilikisu, whom she described as a land-grabber with a history of defying court orders and other authorities.
According to Mero and her legal team, Bilikisu’s defiance and continued evasion of justice were enabled by the “powerful backing” she allegedly received from the Inspector General.
Bilikisu is accused of fraudulently selling several prime Abuja properties, specifically Plots 1861, 1862, and 1863 in Katampe, as well as Plot 4022 in Guzape District, that belong to Mrs. Collen Mero Yesufu.
She was later arrested and arraigned in court by the EFCC on allegations of fraud.
https://x.com/sowore/status/