Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters confirm the contract splitting and reveal that all the contracts were awarded to Messrs Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, a company registered under the names of Adedokun Olarotimi Aromolaran and Omolara Olufunke as directors.
The Nigeria Police Force awarded a N6 billion uniform procurement contract to Messrs Crown Natures Nigeria Plc – a company listed as “inactive” by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) since 2006 – through 66 artificially split contracts, investigation shows. Documents reveal the firm lacks tax compliance records and stock exchange listing despite its PLC status, with the contract violating the Public Procurement Act’s prohibition on splitting single projects to bypass approval thresholds.
Sources confirm IGP Egbetokun diverted funds from police operational accounts, overriding objections from the Director of Finance who noted the deal exceeded his N100 million approval limit. “It’s gross abuse – no single company should get all split contracts,” a source disclosed. The company, registered to Adedokun Aromolaran and Omolara Olufunke, received the fragmented contracts for identical uniform supplies between March-April 2024, with N2 billion already processed despite compliance warnings.
An internal police memo seen by SaharaReporters confirms the contractor sought payment under the Procurement Act, but procurement experts note the 66-part division deliberately circumvented requirements for Federal Executive Council approval on contracts above N500 million. The Bureau of Public Procurement’s database shows no tax records for the beneficiary company, raising questions about due diligence in the controversial award process.
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