Police Awards Contracts Worth N1.7B To Two Firms Linked To Ex IGP

Police Awards Contracts Worth N1.7B To Two Firms Linked To Ex IGP

The Nigeria Police Force is facing questions over Safe School contracts worth about N1.7 billion awarded during the tenure of former Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun.

The deals were traced to two companies with ties to the same individual, raising concerns over procurement practices.

Records from a public spending portal showed that on the same day in November 2023, the police awarded two separate contracts valued at N874 million each for Safe School projects.

One was for the North-Central zone while the other covered the South-West.

The companies involved, Dalori Global Engineering Limited and Hikam Engineering and Consulting Limited, were both linked to a single owner identified in corporate records as Baba Bukar Aji.

Investigations into company filings also showed shared family connections among directors across both firms.

Experts have questioned the arrangement, saying the structure points to possible contract splitting and conflict of interest. They argued that awarding similar projects to linked firms on the same day may suggest an attempt to bypass procurement rules.

The Safe Schools Initiative, created after the Chibok kidnapping in 2014, was designed to improve protection in learning centres across the country. The latest findings have renewed debate on how contracts under the programme are awarded and monitored.

A procurement expert also faulted the pattern, calling for a full investigation into whether due process was followed. Anti graft agencies have been urged to examine the transactions and the ownership links between the companies.

Earlier reports also alleged similar procurement concerns involving police uniform contracts said to have been divided into multiple parts under the same administration.

Those claims added to growing public scrutiny of spending within the police force.