An ally of muck raking newspaper publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has reacted to the ousting from office of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun today.
While several media houses reported earlier today that Egbetokun was sacked by President Bola Tinubu, the Presidency later said he resigned citing need to attend to pressing family issues -though the now ex-IGP’s tenure was due to expire in 2027.
The President has appointed Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Tunji Disu to replace Egbetokun in acting capacity, pending Senate approval.
Reacting, Sowore’s lawyer and activist, Tope Temokun, described Egbetokun’s exit as a reminder that authority in public office is temporary and subject to accountability.
Appointed in 2023, Egbetokun was serving a four-year term set to end in 2027, in accordance with the amended provisions of the Police Act.
“In compliance with the provisions of the Police Act 2020, President Tinubu will convene a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council shortly to formally consider the appointment of AIG Disu as substantive Inspector-General of Police, after which his name will be transmitted to the Senate for confirmation,” the presidency said.
A report today in Sahara Reporters noted that, reacting in a statement titled ‘Egbetokun’s Exit And The Lessons Of History’, Temokun said news of the former police chief’s departure reached him inside the Federal High Court, Abuja, where he was defending activist Omoyele Sowore against what he described as multiple criminal charges filed by the police.
According to him, the information was initially met with disbelief but later confirmed, reinforcing what he called “an unavoidable lesson in public service: ‘power is transient’.”
Temokun criticised Egbetokun’s tenure, alleging that the former police boss “chose the path of power misuse over institutional responsibility,” adding that despite public advice to leave office honourably, he “clung desperately to authority, converting the Nigeria Police Force into an instrument of personal vendetta and political persecution.”
He further alleged that during the period, state power was repeatedly deployed against dissenting voices, stating that “teargas, intimidation, harassment, and politically motivated prosecutions became routine tools” used against Sowore and others.
The lawyer also referenced what he described as a major miscalculation during Egbetokun’s leadership, claiming the former IGP enlisted a Lagos Police Commissioner to declare Sowore wanted.
He described the police’s declaration as “an ill-conceived proxy fight that ultimately backfired both legally and institutionally.”
“That one (Lagos Police Commissioner Moshood Jimoh) has been left alone in the cold now, for not knowing how to say no to an invitation to inherit an enemy that is not his,” Temokun said.
Temokun said history now records what he termed a striking irony, “a serving Inspector-General of Police leaving office under the shadow of a ₦30 million court-ordered liability, arising from unlawful actions taken while in office.”
He added that such an outcome represents a symbolic verdict on leadership, noting that “of all the legacies an Inspector-General could leave behind, a judicial debt stands as perhaps the most symbolic commentary on a tenure marked by excesses of power.”
Addressing serving officers and the incoming police leadership, Temokun said public office requires restraint and respect for citizens’ dignity, warning that misuse of authority inevitably attracts consequences.
“The moment authority is converted to a weapon against citizens, the clock of reckoning begins to tick and the day of reckoning begins its journey, it will certainly come, sometimes quietly, sometimes suddenly, but always inevitably, it will come,” he said.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Egbetokun.
