By Charles Pemu 
A recent investigation has exposed a potential contract scandal within the Nigeria Police Force, raising serious questions about procurement oversight and financial transparency under the leadership of Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun. The probe revealed that a single individual, Oranyedu Chukwudi Samuel, registered five companies within a two-day period and used them, along with three other companies, to secure what appear to be suspiciously inflated contracts totaling approximately N3.4 billion.
According to the investigation, five of the companies Akulight Technologies Limited, Mag-Tram Systems Limited, Drip-CHS Tech Nigeria Limited, Elapsotic Ventures Limited, and Danlokey Systems Limited—were all registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on either January 3 or 4, 2023. These companies, all owned by Samuel, and three others he previously registered, received 366 payments between August 30, 2023, and December 30, 2024.
The payments for these five companies alone totaled about N3.4 billion. A breakdown of the payments shows that Elapsotic Ventures received N820.5 million, Akulight Technologies got N590.5 million, Danlokey Systems received N753.1 million, Drip-CHS Tech Nigeria Limited received N580.3 million, and Mag-Tram Systems received N693.8 million.
Contracts for Consumables Reveal Apparent Overpricing
The investigation revealed several instances of seemingly egregious overpricing. For example, the police paid N8.6 million for just 20 cartons of Titus sardines, which amounts to N430,000 per carton. Commercial market checks show that a standard carton of the same product costs significantly less, between N75,500 and N87,000. Another payment of N8.2 million was made for just 12 cartons of Ovaltine tea, with each carton costing N683,333.
The investigation also highlighted payments made for other household items, such as a total of N13.3 million for just 24 packs of toilet rolls and N22.282 million for 85 cartons of Cream Crackers biscuits. The contracts were often split into multiple, separate payments to various companies owned by the same person, a practice that raises concerns about circumventing public procurement laws.
These findings raise serious questions about adherence to Nigeria’s Public Procurement law, which mandates that all procurements be “transparent, timely, equitable for ensuring accountability” and must achieve “value for money.” The apparent conflict of interest and lack of competitive bidding in these contracts have prompted calls for an investigation into the police’s contracting processes.
The video titled “Civil Society Demands Investigation into ₦6B Police Uniform Contract Scandal” provides an example of public and civil society concerns over contract practices within the Nigeria Police Force.