Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police, has ordered the arrest of Kennedy Iyere, an activist, over allegations bordering on criminal breach of trust, obtaining by false pretence, cheating and impersonation.
In a letter dated November 13, 2025 and signed by Bukola Kuti, the principal staff officer III, the IGP asked the officer-in-charge of police special investigation unit (SIU) to investigate the petition against Iyere.
“I forward herewith copy of letter dated 12th November, 2025 received from Valen Legal Practitioners on the above-underlined subject and write to convey the directive of the Inspector-General of Police that you deal in line with the IGP’s extant directives on investigation as contained in Police Wireless Message CB:4001/IGP.SEC/ABJ/ VOL.121/48 DTO: 211340/11/2024 and CB:4001/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL. 121/110, DTO: 241300/01/2025 respectively,” the letter reads.
In the petition written by Valen Legal Practitioners on behalf of its clients, the law firm accused Iyere of allegedly defrauding Silver Green Hotel Limited and several other individuals to the tune of N113,508,757.
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The law firm alleged that Iyere “fraudulently obtained the sum of N26,000,000 from our client, Silver Green Hotel Limited, under the false representation that he was a staff of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and that the government would sponsor a purported youth empowerment programme tagged ‘YEIDEP’”.
The law firm alleged that the activist defrauded the hotel and other individuals with the tactics of “false promises of government-backed projects”.
“We continue to act as Solicitors to Silver Green Hotel Limited and several other individuals and corporate bodies who have been defrauded by one Iyere Kennedy Ebhenya, hereinafter referred to as ‘the suspect’,” the petition reads.
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“Our earlier petition dated 23rd October 2025, which was assigned to the IGP SIU for further actions and investigation, detailed how the said suspect fraudulently obtained the sum of ₦26,000,000 from our client, Silver Green Hotel Limited, under the false representation that he was a staff of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and that the government would sponsor a purported youth empowerment programme tagged ‘YEIDEP.’
“Following the filing of that petition and further investigations by our clients, several other victims of this same individual have now emerged, revealing that the suspect has carried out a pattern of identical fraudulent schemes against multiple unsuspecting persons and establishments.
“Below are the names of the additional victims and amounts fraudulently obtained from each: Mr. Clement Ignatius (₦6,300,000), Bishop (Dr.) Susan Great (₦1,600,000), Mr. Emeka Owuchelu Iche (₦46,000,000), Mr. Gbenga Okenla (₦1,500,000), Pastor Shadrack (₦18,000,000), Dr. Duru (₦12,000,000), Mr. Obinna Ukor (₦7,500,000), Mr. Aneke Everistus (₦3,015,900), Mr. Obinna Ifeandu (₦17,137,900), and Valencia Hotels (₦454,957).
“These victims, just like our earlier client, were deceived through similar misrepresentations, false promises of government-backed projects, and impersonation of officials of various Ministries and Departments. The suspect has, thereby, obtained huge sums of money from the public under fraudulent pretence, constituting serious economic and cyber-related crimes.”
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The law firm appealed to the IGP to investigate and interrogate the suspect over the alleged fraud.
In November 2024, Iyere was appointed as the coordinator-general of the Nigerian Youth Economic Engagement and De-Radicalisation Programme (NIYEEDEP), a federal government-backed initiative.
The initiative was designed to “mitigate youth unemployment, grow Nigeria’s economy and alleviate household poverty by helping youths to access the business financing, enterprise development services and other basic economic incentives”.
In March 2025, the federal government renamed NIYEEDEP to Youth Economic Intervention and De-Radicalisation Programme (YEIDEP).
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