According to the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, the transfer was an error, and the money was subsequently reversed to the state government’s account.
“The son of the IGP explained that he received N100 million in his account, and I instructed our accounts officer to reverse the money immediately, which was done,” Hundeyin said.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism on social media, with journalist Fisayo Soyombo and other Nigerians reacting to it. Soyombo wrote on Facebook on Wednesday February 25, a day after Egbetokun quit his position as the IGP: “There are 237.5 million Nigerians. The Anambra State Government was going to make an erroneous N100 million transfer, but it did not land in the account of you reading this or me or the possible 237.5million others.
“Instead, the Anambra State government transferred funds from the security vote to the son of Nigeria’s number one internal security official”.
The transfers, reportedly made in September 2025, were done in four tranches of N25 million each, and were described as “In-Branch NIP” payments, according to Sahara Reporters.
However, investigations revealed that the funds were later withdrawn in cash and redeposited into Victor Egbetokun’s account.
The incident has raised questions about the handling of security funds, especially as Anambra State was dealing with serious security challenges at the time. Victor Egbetokun, who is not a serving police officer or civil servant, has been accused of financial impropriety.
Former IGP Egbetokun had reportedly objected to the payment and ordered the return of the money, citing potential legal implications. He was said to have referenced the 2005 Tafa Balogun scandal, warning his son about the risks involved.
It remains unclear if the development was one of the reasons Tinubu sacked the former IGP and appointed his successor, Tunji Disu.
Nigerians who reacted to the payment on social media include Eze Kingsley. He wrote, “Corruption has no tribe or religion An Igbo state in South-East, transferring money to a Yoruba man; you see how they collaborate to loot? No religion, no tribe”.
Tony Ephraim questioned the circumstances surrounding the payment. “Great error. It means the boy has his account number domiciled with the police accounting department for such error to occur,” he opined.
Richard Henry expressed skepticism over the payment, saying “Please what kind of statement is this? Accepting that the money was even transferred to his account is enough evidence,,,, Why was the money transferred? What was the money meant for? Who transferred the money? I think those should be what Police Force should have been interested in.”
Anjorin Robert Olawale also shared his thoughts. “The only issue here is, they think Nigerians are fools because in the real sense, a whole lot of Nigerians are actually fools. First because, they will actually believe that story of it being an erroneous transfer. Second, even if it wasn’t an erroneous transfer, it was a ‘smart’ move, just that they got caught.
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