Police
Police Conference Funds Not Diverted, Says Conference Organizer, Shina Philips
Police Conference Funds Not Diverted, Says Conference Organizer, Shina Philips
Lenders Consult International Limited has stated that the company and its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Shina Philips, did not divert funds meant for the organization of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers.
The company stated this in response to a report published on March 3, 2026, by an online news platform that alleged funds intended for the organization of the Nigeria Police Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers had been diverted. The company described the allegation as false and said the report failed to include its own side of the story.
According to the firm, it instituted and has been the organiser of the Nigeria Pitch Awards, described as the country’s longest-running football awards programme.
The company said its collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force began after it proposed organising an annual Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers as part of efforts to support capacity building within the force.
It explained that the retreat brings together officers from the rank of Commissioner of Police and above to engage in peer review and exchange ideas on policing and security challenges.
The firm said its proposal included an arrangement where it would approach potential sponsors to fund the conference and retreat, adding that the plan was formally approved and has been operational since 2019.
“Arising from our desire to support the Nigeria Police in their capacity-building efforts, we approached the police authorities with a proposal to organize an annual Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers, bringing together senior officers from the rank of Commissioner of Police and above to engage in peer review and cross-fertilization of ideas.
“Our proposal included an obligation that, as initiators, Lenders Consult International would be responsible for approaching potential sponsors to fund the retreat. This arrangement was well-received and approved from the outset. This arrangement is official and has been in place since 2019,” the statement reads in part.
It stated that the maiden edition of the conference was held in 2019, with the Lagos State Government serving as the host sponsor.
According to the company, the event was declared open by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented at the time by then Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
Subsequent editions of the conference were held in Uyo in February 2022 and later in Owerri between 2022 and 2024, before the 2025 edition in Abeokuta.
“We kicked off the maiden edition in 2019 with the Lagos State Government as the host sponsor. The event was declared open by His Excellency, late President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, represented by His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo GCON, the then Vice-President. The Conference and Retreat have subsequently been held in Uyo (February, 2022), Owerri (October, 2022, 2023, 2024), and Abeokuta (2025).
The company insisted that it has never received any funds from the police to organise the conference, as the conference is a private initiative in support of the Nigeria Police.
“We would like to state very strongly that we have never, at any time, received any money by way of funding from the Nigerian Police for the sponsorship of the event. As a corporate entity, we have worked tirelessly to keep the Conference and Retreat afloat, even when sponsorship funds were inadequate to cover the event’s costs.
“For the sake of emphasis, we restate that Lenders Consult International, our MD/CEO, and any member of our staff, have at no time received any money from the Nigeria Police, nor have they ever shared any purported loot with retired IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, any past Inspector-General of Police, or Force Public Relations Officer.
The company further stated that the Conference has been a catalyst for police transformation and reforms.
“The Conference has been very impactful and has led to major transformations in the Police Force. One of the key takeaways from the Nigeria Police Conference and Retreat includes, among others, the establishment of the Police Institute in Abuja.
The company further stated that it later proposed the establishment of an annual Nigeria Police Awards and Commendations to recognise outstanding officers within the force.
According to the statement, two editions of the awards have been held in 2024 and 2025 in Abuja and were fully sponsored by the company and its partners.
It also said Philips, described as a FIFA-licensed football agent, had maintained a longstanding working relationship with senior police officers through various projects.
The statement added that he was appointed a consultant to the police in 2020 and tasked with coordinating activities for Police Week 2020, which was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company said that since the appointment, Philips had continued to support police initiatives without receiving payment, adding that some official trips he undertook alongside the immediate past Inspector-General of Police were self-funded.
Reaffirming its position, the firm described itself as a responsible corporate organisation. It said it had maintained cordial relations with the media since launching the Nigeria Pitch Awards at a world press conference in 2011.
“We have acted as a responsible corporate body by supporting the Government as best as we can. In furtherance of the desire to continue to motivate the officers and men of the Nigeria Police, we again proposed the idea of an annual Nigeria Police Awards and Commendations, which the police authorities embraced. Two editions of the awards have been held in 2024 and 2025 in Abuja. The awards have been fully sponsored by Lenders Consult International and our partners.
“Our MD/CEO, Dr. Shina Philips, has been a patriotic citizen and a FIFA-Licensed Agent who has handled the transfer of some Nigerian footballers. He has enjoyed a strong relationship with the former Inspectors-General of Police and the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force while working on the Projects. He holds the Nigeria Police in very high esteem and is committed to partnering with them to make their job of policing Nigeria easy.
“In recognition of his commitment, he was appointed a Consultant to the Police in 2020 and tasked with serving as the sole consultant for the Police Week 2020, which was sadly aborted by COVID-19. Since then, he has continued to make his contributions without receiving any pay. It is based on this appointment that he has had to travel with the immediate Inspector-General of Police. Some of those trips were self-funded, and at no time was any money paid to him or the Company for any of them.
News
ADC: Nationwide Aspirants’ Seminar Notice Not An Official Communication Of The Party
ADC: Nationwide Aspirants’ Seminar Notice Not An Official Communication Of The Party
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) wishes to inform its members, aspirants, and the general public that the notice currently circulating regarding a so-called “Nationwide Aspirants’ Seminar” and the request for registration fees is not an official communication of the party.
The statement did not originate from the National Working Committee of the African Democratic Congress, nor has it been approved or endorsed by the party or any of its recognized organs.

ADC Party
Members, aspirants, and the public are therefore advised to disregard the notice entirely. All official communications and directives of the African Democratic Congress are issued only through the appropriate party channels.
Signed:
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
News
Court Sentences Ekiti Lecturer Shittu Isiaka To De@th By Hanging For Armed Robbery
Court Sentences Ekiti Lecturer Shittu Isiaka To De@th By Hanging For Armed Robbery
Court sentences Ekiti lecturer Shittu Isiaka to de@th by hanging for armed robbery. The court of appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo state capital, has sentenced Shittu Isiaka, a lecturer at the College of Health Technology, Ijero-Ekiti, to death by hanging for armed robbery.
Omolara Adejumo, the presiding justice, delivered the judgement after finding Isiaka guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery.
John Joshua, the prosecution counsel, told the court that the incident occurred on July 5, 2017, along Ibuji on the Akure-Ilesha expressway.
Joshua said Isiaka and other accomplices – who are still at large – robbed Olatunji Olowoyeye, a commercial driver, of his Nissan Cabstar vehicle with registration number XJ 214 KTU at gunpoint.
While testifying, Olowoyeye told the court that he knew the defendant before the incident.
He said Isiaka and two other men had hired him in Ilesa to transport cocoa beans from Igbara-Oke for N20,000.
According to him, the men paid N8,000 upfront and promised to pay the balance after the trip.
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Olowoyeye said he became suspicious when the passengers asked him to drive the vehicle into the bush near a primary school at Ibuji.
He told the court that one of the men sitting beside him suddenly brought out a gun while Isiaka sat in the front seat.
The victim said the attackers dragged him out of the vehicle, collected the key, his phone and cash, tied his hands and legs and abandoned him in the bush.
Olowoyeye further alleged that the defendant injected him with a substance before tying him to a tree.
According to him, he later rolled through the bush and reached the highway, where police patrol officers rescued him and took him to a hospital.
Olowoyeye told the court that he passed bloody urine for several days and spent about 15 days receiving medical treatment.
Kehinde Omotosho, an inspector and police witness, told the court that highway patrol officers brought the victim to the Igbara-Oke police station, where he made a statement implicating Isiaka.
During the trial, Isiaka denied the allegations.
The suspect told the court that he was not involved in the robbery and also denied injecting the victim with any substance.
The defendant argued that he was not a medical practitioner and had no licence to administer injections.
He further told the court that investigators failed to present any syringe or item allegedly used in the crime, adding that no medical report was tendered to support the victim’s claim.
In the judgement, the judge held that the prosecution failed to establish the offence of endangering life as required under section 135(1) of the Evidence Act.
The judge also noted that there were no eyewitness accounts of the alleged injection and no medical report to support the victim’s claim.
She said it would be unsafe to rely solely on the testimonies of the victim and another witness without any supporting medical evidence.

Court Sentences Ekiti Lecturer Shittu Isiaka To De@th
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The judge consequently acquitted Isiaka on the third count but held that the prosecution established sufficient evidence linking the defendant to the robbery.
Adejumo convicted Isiaka of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery, sentencing him to life imprisonment for conspiracy and death by hanging for armed robbery.
“The sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead,” the judge said.
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Government Approves N34bn For 25 Divisional Police Headquarters, Other Projects In Delta
Government Approves N34bn For 25 Divisional Police Headquarters, Other Projects In Delta
Government approves N34bn for 25 divisional police headquarters, other projects in Delta. Mr Aniagwu said that the government approved over N400 billion to address sundry projects.
The Delta State Executive Council (DELSEC), on Friday, approved N34 billion to build Police Divisional Headquarters across the 25 LGAs, ahead of the proposed State Police.
The Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Charles Aniagwu, disclosed this at a news briefing on some of the decisions reached at the DELSEC meeting, presided over by Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori at the Government House, Asaba.
Mr Aniagwu said that the government approved over N400 billion to address sundry projects, including the Divisional Police Headquarters, roads, hostels for the nine state-owned tertiary institutions, rural electrification projects, and social intervention programmes in the state.
He added that the approval covered the construction and rehabilitation of over 50 road projects across the state.
He described the approval as a watershed, adding that the government had presented a lead, particularly with regard to the State Police infrastructure in readiness for its creation.
The commissioner said: “Gov. Oborevwori, in line with his M.O.R.E. Agenda, has been able to lead us to approve several projects that touch the lives of our people across different sectors in the state.
“But principal among the decisions that were reached at today’s State Executive Council meeting hinged on the number one function of the government, which is the security of the people.
“Ahead of the federal government policy on State Police, the state government today approved the construction of state-of-the-art Divisional Police Headquarters in the 25 LGAs and a Special Police Protection Unit at the cost of about N34 billion.
“This is because we want to advance the security of our people even when, today, Delta ranks as one of the most secured and safest states to live in Nigeria,” Mr Aniagwu said.
According to him, the decision has become necessary since the Federal Government is most favourably disposed at this time to allow state police across the country.
Mr Aniagwu added that the government was partnering with the Rural Electrification Agency, noting that the EXCO also approved N5 billion to boost electricity supply in the state.
“Government also approved N1.5 billion for the Ministry of Economic Planning to execute the second phase of its social investment intervention in the state,” he said.
Also, the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, disclosed that the state government approved the construction of 10 units of residential quarters for judges, comprising five at Osubi in Delta Central and five in Asaba.
Mr Ohwovoriole said that the government, in its bid to ensure a state-of-the-art and conducive working environment, also gave approval for the renovation of 16 Customary Courts and 26 Magistrates’ Courts across the state.
He added that the government had a work plan in place to ensure a better welfare package for magistrates, particularly regarding mobility and housing.
On his part, the Commissioner for Higher Education, Johnbull Tonukari, explained that the government’s approval to construct one male and one female hostel in each of the nine state-owned tertiary institutions would help address their accommodation needs.

Delta Governor Oborevwori
Mr Tonukari said that when completed, the hostels would provide accommodation for at least 960 students in each of the institutions, including four universities, three polytechnics, and two Colleges of Education.
According to him, the four universities alone have over 45,000 students, so building new male and female hostels in each institution will be a huge relief for students and their parents.
The Commissioner for Housing, Godknows Angele, said that the ministry was ready to deliver all the projects for the state police, judiciary, and higher institutions in good time and according to specification.
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