Ex-AIG Petitions US Embassy, Says IGP Egbetokun Shielded Indian Accused Of Raping American Woman

A former Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Abduyari S. Lafia has accused the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, of obstructing justice in a rape case involving an American citizen and an Indian national.

In a letter dated August 1, 2025, and addressed to the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills, Lafia, who was AIG at the time, alleged that IGP Egbetokun intervened to shield a rape suspect, Mr. Kumar Gurav, from prosecution.

The case, according to Lafia, dates back to March 30, 2023, when an American woman, Miss Malory Henry, reported that her colleague, Mr. Kumar Gurav, an Assistant Manager with Olam Rice Nigeria, lured her to his residence in Makurdi, Benue State, where she was allegedly drugged and “brutally raped, including forceful anal penetration without her consent.”

Lafia wrote, “Consequent upon this directive, the Bureau commenced investigation where it was found that both the suspect and the victim were staffs (sic) of Olam Rice Nigeria.”

According to Lafia, “it was further established by medical examination after the suspect was taken into custody that the victim was raped by him.”

He alleged that Gurav attempted to bribe the investigation team with N100 million to compromise the case. When the offer failed, the suspect allegedly reached out to influential family members of the investigators, but was still resisted.

A prima facie case of rape was established, and Gurav was arraigned on May 12, 2023, at the High Court of Benue State.

According to Lafia, the prosecution presented evidence, including medical reports and pictorial documentation of injuries sustained by the victim.

However, Lafia alleged that once Egbetokun became Inspector-General of Police in June 2023, he “began to show unusual interest in the matter in favor of the suspect.”

The letter stated: “Consequently, on July 17th, 2024, the unthinkable happened where the Prosecutor ASP Edwin Ochayi was ordered by the Commissioner of Police Legal, CP Ehiozoba Ehiede, acting on the directive of IGP Kayode Egbetokun to terminate the case before the court.”

Lafia argued that the case was illegally withdrawn from the High Court under the pretext of a review. The trial judge, Justice T.A. Kume, eventually discharged and acquitted the defendant without him entering a defence.

“This development which aided the Defendant in evading justice is not only a sad commentary on our criminal justice system but a pointer to the impunity in which IGP Kayode Egbetokun runs the Police Force,” Lafia wrote.

Lafia further accused the IGP of victimising officers who resisted attempts to compromise the case. He said Prosecutor Ochayi was transferred to Niger State as punishment, while his own promotion was blocked.

“Instead of commending I and the prosecutor for diligent investigation, prosecution and refusing the bribe sum of 100 Million Naira from the suspect, he set out to victimize us,” Lafia stated.

In closing, Lafia appealed to the U.S. government to take note of the case, stressing his duty to expose the alleged abuse.

“I am constrained to write this petition and draw your attention to this ignoble injustice meted to your citizen (Miss Malory Henry) and the impunity with which it was carried out by IGP Kayode Egbetokun who operates above the law,” he said.

The letter, titled “How IGP Kayode Egbetokun Shielded a Suspect in a Case of Rape Against an American Citizen”, was also copied to the Indian High Commission and the British High Commission.