Nigerian Police Spent ₦13.3Million On 24 Packs Of Tissue Paper Worth Less Than ₦1.4Million
A SaharaReporters’ review of the public payments portal, Govspend, has revealed that the Nigeria Police Force paid a sum of N13.3 million for the purchase of 24 packs of toilet rolls.
According to the description in the payments made between April and July 2023, the money was paid in two tranches for Carla Rose toilet rolls.
On April 21, 2023, the Police Formations and Commands paid a sum of N6.558 million to Waves Fulfillment Limited for the supply of 12 packets of toilet rolls (Carla Rose, 48 rolls each per packet).
Another payment of N6.8 million was made on July 27, 2023, to the same Waves Fulfillment Limited for the supply of “12 pkts of toilet rolls (Carla Rose 48 each per packet).”
This means that between April 21 and July 27, 2023, the Nigerian Police paid a total of N13.3 million for 24 packets of Carla Rose toilet rolls.
How Much Do Carla Rose Toilet Rolls Cost in the Open Market?
SaharaReporters conducted a survey of the open market and found the price of Carla Rose per packet to be stunningly lower than what the Nigerian police paid.
Checks on the popular trading platform Jumia show that “Rose Carla Tissue Paper Roll (one bag of 48 pieces) costs N55,000.”
On Konga, it is sold at the rate of N50,000.
These prices indicate that twenty-four packs of Carla Rose toilet rolls, with each pack consisting of 48 pieces, should not cost more than N1.320 million.
Even if the police had added a 20% profit margin for the contractor — raising the cost of each pack from the market price of ₦55,000 to ₦66,000 — the total cost for 24 packs would have amounted to just ₦1.584 million. This figure remains far below the ₦13.3 million that was actually paid.
Previously, a SaharaReporters review of the public expenditure portal, Govspend, showed that a total of N149 million was paid into the personal account of now-retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Danladi Lalas, to charter aircraft for the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The payments, made in four separate tranches, were executed in violation of fiscal laws.
On March 4, a sum of N17.2 million was paid into Danladi Lalas’ account to charter an aircraft for the IGP from Abuja to Anambra and from Abuja to Bauchi.
On March 18, another N14.9 million was paid into his account for a similar charter service.
On August 6, N14 million was paid into Lalas’ account to charter an aircraft for IGP Egbetokun’s travel from Abuja to Lagos and back to Abuja.
Another payment of N103.4 million was made on September 27, 2024, into Lalas’ account for aircraft charter services to convey the IGP from Abuja to various states.
Danladi Lalas oversaw the Nigeria Police Airwing until his retirement.
It remains unclear why Nigerian police authorities chose to deposit millions of naira into Lalas’ personal account rather than paying the funds directly into the official account of the aircraft charter company.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that Lalas had been the Head of the Airwing since 2018. Sources indicated that under his leadership, the number of serviceable aircraft declined from six to just one.
Chapter Seven, Section 713 of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations (2009) states: “Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account.”
A lawyer, Kehinde Awosusi, while speaking to SaharaReporters, emphasized that the law prohibits receiving government funds through personal accounts.
“Under no circumstances should a civil servant receive government money into a personal account, either government income or government expenditures. You can look at the case of Betta Edu and the issues that arose from it, and the clear violations she was accused of committing. It is a clear affront on the position of the law,” he told SaharaReporters.
Earlier, a SaharaReporters review of the public payments portal, Govspend, showed that the Nigerian police spent a sum of N86 million on Christmas decorations for the Force Headquarters and Egbetokun’s residences in Lagos and Abuja.
According to details on the portal, the payment was made under “Police Command and Formations” and was directed to Wysdum Integrated Services Limited. The project description read: “Payment for Supply of Comprehensive Christmas Decoration of Force Headquarters, Abuja, IGP residence Abuja and Lagos.”
