Mustapha Balogun, a former Inspector General of Police, has passed away.
After a brief illness, he passed away at the Reddington Hospital in Lekki, Lagos State, at around 8:30 last night, according to family sources.
However, as of the time this report was being filled up, Force Public Relations Officer and Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated that the police high command had not yet been notified of his passing by his family as is customary.
In Osun State’s Ila Orangun, where he was born on August 25, 1947, he was named IGP in March 2002. Balogun passed away at the age of 74. It is not yet known what caused the death.
His Career Profile
Commissioner of Police Edo State, the first Commissioner of Police in Delta, was a member of the Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police Course 3.
Balogun would be known for making a show of force when he visited the infamous Okija Shrine in Anambra State during a time of razor-thin politics in the region.
It was generally accepted that the shrine, where politicians supposedly took the oath of fealty at the direction of their godfathers, had a reputation for dissuading disobedient devotees.
But in a stunning turn of events that put an end to his career, the former police chief was taken into custody by the EFCC, which was then headed by Nuhu Ribadu, on suspicion of corruption.
Towards the end of 2004, he was accused of stealing public funds and accepting bribes from politicians and criminals. There were also numerous more claims of corruption made against him. Due to them, he was forced to quit in January 2005.
Tafa Balogun was charged with receiving over N13 billion through money laundering, theft, and other means on April 4th, 2005 before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Tafa Balogun was charged with 70 offences by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, led by Nuhu Ribadu, between the year of 2002 and 2004.
He entered into a plea agreement with the court in exchange for returning the majority of the assets and money after being confronted with overwhelming evidence. He was given a six-month prison term, and on February 9, 2006, he was freed after serving some of it in Abuja National Hospital.
He had mainly disappeared from the public eye since that embarrassing end to his police career, only sometimes showing up at social gatherings.
Tafa, a fellow of Nigeria’s top military school, the National War College, later rose to the position of Assistant Inspector General of Police in Kano before being appointed the 21st Inspector General of Police on March 6, 2002.
He studied at the University of Lagos, earning a B.A. in Political Science in 1972. He joined the Nigerian Police Force in May 1973. He earned a law degree from the University of Ibadan while serving as a police officer.