The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun has replied publisher and activist Omoyele Sowore over allegations that recent police promotions reflected ethnic bias.
The IGP dismissed the claims of favouritism in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) promotion system.
Sowore had raised alarm, claiming an unusually high number of Yoruba officers had been promoted.
However, speaking during the decoration of officers recently promoted by the Police Service Commission (PSC) in Abuja, Egbetokun, who didn’t directly mention Sowore, described the allegations as the handiwork of “professional mischief-makers and agents of institutional sabotage” who use social media to malign “honourable men.”
He said, “Let me be unequivocal: There is no gender advantage. No ethnic preference. No religious pathway. Only merit. But even as we mark this milestone, we are not blind to the resistance.
“We know there are those who fear change, who attack progress because it exposes their irrelevance.
“A certain corner of social media has become a playground for professional mischief-makers and agents of institutional sabotage.
“They twist facts, malign honourable men, and attempt to discredit noble efforts with shameless dishonesty.
“Let me send them a clear and final message: Your lies will not derail our reforms. Your noise will not drown our resolve. And your provocations, if sustained, will be met with lawful.”
Egbetokun emphasised that the promoted officers emerged from a rigorous selection process based on courage, integrity, professionalism, and nominations in multiple categories during the 2023 and 2024 award years.