The Nigerian police have ordered the immediate retirement of senior police officers following an investigation into an allegation of age falsification scandal levelled against them, Peoples Gazette has learnt.

“Grateful be informed that the underlisted senior police officers have been retired from the force,” stated a memo dated March 4, 2025, and seen by The Gazette.

The concerned officers with their effective retirement date include AIG Idowu Owohunwa, CP Benneth Igweh (10/2/2025), CP Aina Emmanuel (1/5/2023), ACP Salama Wakili Abdul (10/2/2025), ACP Simon Lough (26/2/2025), ACP Dakon Philip Sarpiya (1/8/2022) and AVP Grace Ejiofor (12/12/2023).

The memo said the decisions to retire the seven senior police officers were reached at an extraordinary meeting of the Police Service Commission held on February 20, 2025.

This development came barely a month after the force summoned the concerned officers before the Force Disciplinary Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into allegations of age falsification against them.

While Mr Lough was the head of the force’s legal section, Mr Igweh was an erstwhile Federal Capital Territory’s police commissioner.

In February, the police summoned Messrs Owohunwa, Lough and other senior officers before the FDC. 

A police source had told The Gazette that the order issued for the appearance of Messrs Owohunwa, Lough and other senior officers was related to the ongoing investigation into age falsification allegations against them.

The memo also directed the officers to appear at the panel in their standard daily dress code and to treat the directive with great importance.