By Fatima Saka
Abuja — Lenders Consult International Limited has denied allegations that funds meant for the organisation of the Nigeria Police Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers were diverted, insisting that neither the company nor its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Shina Philips, received or misused any funds related to the event.
The company made the clarification in a statement responding to a report published on March 3, 2026, by an online news platform which alleged that funds meant for the conference had been diverted. It described the allegation as false and criticised the report for failing to include its response.
According to the firm, it initiated the annual Nigeria Police Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers as a private initiative aimed at supporting capacity building within the police force.
The company explained that the retreat brings together officers from the rank of Commissioner of Police and above to conduct peer reviews and exchange ideas on policing and security challenges across the country.
Lenders Consult said the proposal to organise the retreat included an arrangement where the company would source sponsorship from private and public organisations to fund the event, noting that the arrangement was formally approved by the police authorities and has been in place since 2019.
It added that the maiden edition of the conference was held in 2019 with the Lagos State Government serving as host sponsor.
The event, according to the company, was declared open by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented at the time by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Subsequent editions were held in Uyo in February 2022, in Owerri between 2022 and 2024, and in Abeokuta in 2025.
The firm stressed that it had never received funding from the Nigeria Police for the conference, describing the initiative as a privately driven effort to support the force.
“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,” the statement said.
“For 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 shared any purported funds with retired Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, any past Inspector-General of Police, or the Force Public Relations Officer.”
The company further noted that the conference had contributed to reforms within the police, including the establishment of a Police Institute in Abuja, which it described as one of the key outcomes of the retreat.
It also disclosed that it later proposed the creation of an annual Nigeria Police Awards and Commendations to recognise outstanding officers within the force.
According to the statement, two editions of the awards were held in Abuja in 2024 and 2025 and were fully sponsored by Lenders Consult International and its partners.
The firm added that Philips, a FIFA-licensed football agent, had maintained a longstanding professional relationship with senior police officers through various initiatives supporting the police.
It stated that he was appointed a consultant to the police in 2020 to coordinate activities for Police Week 2020, which was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Since the appointment, the company said 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 company described itself as a responsible corporate organisation that had consistently supported the Nigeria Police while maintaining a cordial relationship with the media since launching the Nigeria Pitch Awards in 2011.
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