By Our Reporter
Investigation czar and Retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Tunde Ogunshakin has been conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by Tansian University, Anambra State in recognition of his outstanding contributions to public service and security in Nigeria.
The prestigious award was presented during the university’s convocation ceremony, where Ogunshakin was lauded for his decades of dedicated service in law enforcement, leadership, and community development.
Tansian Catholic University, a leading private institution in Nigeria, was founded in 2007 by the Rev. Msgr. Prof. John Bosco Akam. Named after Saint Tansi, a revered Nigerian martyr canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1998, the university is committed to academic excellence, moral integrity, and community service. It offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs across multiple faculties, including Arts, Education, Management Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.
The honorary doctorate awarded to Ogunshakin underscores Tansian University’s tradition of recognizing individuals who have made significant societal impacts. The institution’s leadership praised the retired AIG for his commitment to national security and his exemplary career in the Nigeria Police Force.
With a serene learning environment and a mission to combine education with ethical values, Tansian University continues to be a hub for academic growth and economic development.
Tunde Johnson Ogunsakin, known simply as Tunde or Basorun, by friends and superiors, is a highly accomplished and seasoned law enforcement professional. His active 32 years in the Nigeria Police Force exposed him to comprehensive involvement and wide experiences in anti-financial fraud policing around the world. Within this period, he gained tremendous exposure and exhibited unquestionable professionalism through swift resolution of complex financial crime issues in and outside Nigeria.
Rated by his superiors as an exemplary and motivating officer, Ogunsakin is a skillful maestro at managing puzzling situations, creating and implementing effective law enforcement strategies, and silently exhibiting pragmatic moves aimed at achieving positive results.
Born on August 1, 1957, in Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State, Ogunsakin holds a Master’s Degree (LL.M) in International Commercial Law from Salford University in Manchester, United Kingdom (2019), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law (LL. B) of the University of Abuja (2015). Called to the Bar in 2017, he had earlier obtained a Bachelor’s Degree (B.Sc.) in Political Science & History from the University of Ife (now, Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile Ife in 1980. In 2003, Ogunsakin earned an Advanced Diploma in Law, Diplomacy and Conflict Management at the University of Jos. Both his primary and secondary education were at Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State between 1963 and 1974.
It was this strong legal background and sound academic training that provided Ogunsakin with extensive knowledge of criminal law; evidence collection; thorough investigation; prosecution of cases; and courtroom procedures during his tour of duty in the Police Force.
He demonstrated exceptional leadership skills in successfully guiding and directing large teams of professionals in the Police Force and overseeing critical operations. In and outside Nigeria, he displayed proven ability in fostering community relations, collaborating with diverse stakeholders across borders and race, and establishing trust within multicultural environments.
Ogunsakin attended several trainings and courses during his service in the Police Force. They included the Anti-Riot Mobile Training Course in Gwoza, Borno State (1985); Senior Police Officers Detective Course in Jos (1990); Company Fraud Foundation Course, Detective College, Hendon, London, United Kingdom (1996); Intermediate Command Course, Police Staff College, Jos (1997); and the Senior Command Course at the Police Staff College in Jos (2003).
Shortly after his retirement from the Police Force in 2016 as Assistant Inspector General, having meritoriously attained that height in 2014, Ogunsakin established a law chamber in Abuja, known as Tunde Ogunsakin and Co., (Legal Practitioners) in 2018.
In 1981, fresh from the national service in Ogun State after his university education, Ogunsakin had joined the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent. After his training at the Police Staff College in Jos (1982-1984), he was appointed Divisional Crime Officer at Bodija, in Oyo State.
Between 1985 and 1988, he was the Unit Commander, Number Four Squadron, in Ibadan; and in 1989, his exposure to international policing started when he served as Detective Superintendent and Officer in charge of Organised Crimes at the INTERPOL Office in Lagos. In this position, he performed liaison duties with INTERPOL crime-investigating officers from Canada, Britain, Holland, France, Italy, Switzerland, and other countries. Beginning 1993, he served as INTERPOL’s Officer-In-Charge of Economic and Financial Crime Division, covering Europe/North America, in Lagos.
As Deputy Commander of Nigeria’s Contingent to the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) between 1997 and 1998, Ogunsakin served as Team Leader attached to IPTF Breza Sarajevo Station; Human Rights Investigation Officer; Deputy Station Commander; and Station Commander. On return to Nigeria in 1999, he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police and confirmed as ACP in charge of INTERPOL in Abuja. In 2001, he was moved to head the Criminal Investigations Department in Jos, Plateau State. He later moved back to Abuja in the same capacity in 2002. He also served as Officer-In-Charge of the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Ogunsakin was in 2004 appointed the Provost Marshall at the Force Headquarters and later in 2005, he became the Force Secretary before he was returned to take charge of the IGP’s Monitoring Unit. In 2007, he served as Head of Operations at the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC). Just a year later, in 2008, he was moved to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the Head of Operations.
Ogunsakin was in 2009 promoted Deputy Commissioner of Police and moved to the Force Headquarters in Abuja where he served as Deputy Force Computer Officer until 2012 when he joined the elite rank following his promotion as Commissioner of Police. He was immediately sent to the Force Criminal Investigation Department as Head of the Police Special Fraud Unit (FPSU) in Lagos; where his professionalism in anti-corruption fight manifested exceedingly.
Two years later in 2014, Ogunsakin was posted to Rivers State as Commissioner of Police, a position he held until his elevation as Assistant Inspector General of Police the same year. He returned briefly to the Force Headquarters in Abuja before proceeding to Zone 6 Command of the Police Force in Calabar. In the same year, he was moved to Zone 12 Command of the Police Force in Bauchi where he served until his retirement in 2016.
During his service in the Nigeria Police Force, Ogunsakin attended several local and international conferences that helped broaden and also deepen his criminal investigation outlook. In Lyon, France alone, he attended three International Conferences between 1991 and 1994. They included Africa/Euro Fraud Conference; Organised Crime Conference; and Conference on Advance Fee Fraud. In 1995, he was in Italy as a Member of the Nigerian Delegation to the 63rd INTERPOL General Assembly. It was in Lyon, France, that he successfully argued against attempts by other delegates to officially name Advance Fee Fraud after Nigeria (Nigeria Fraud). He challenged them to the fact that Advance Fee Fraud was not peculiar to Nigeria. Supported by friends and colleagues from Britain, he won the argument.
Between 1995 and 1999, he actively participated in the groundwork and initiative for the formation of the West African Police Chiefs Committee; served as Member, Nigeria Delegation to the West African Police Chiefs Committee Meeting; played significant role in the organization and hosting of the West African Minister of Interior and Security Meeting; served as Member, Nigeria Delegation to the 2nd West African Fraud Meeting; and as Leader of Delegation to the Meeting on Economic Crimes of the English-Speaking African Sub-Region, in Windhoek, Namibia.
From 2000 to 2002, Ogunsakin served as Member of the Working Group of the NCB (National Central Bureau—another name for INTERPOL) Improvement Performance; Member, Nigerian Delegation to 69th INTERPOL General Assembly in Athens, Greece; Member, World Summit on Funds Derived from Illicit Activities, at Monte Carlo, Monaco in France; and Leader of Delegation, Computer Crimes Investigation, Seoul, South Korea.
Yearly, from 2012 till date, Ogunsakin been attending and presenting researched papers at the International Symposium on Economic Crimes hosted by Jesus College, Cambridge, London, in the United Kingdom. So far, he spoken on such topics as: Intelligent Investigations and Disruption of Crimes; Compliance Versus Organised Crimes and Terror; Unexplained Wealth: Whose Business; Roles and Efficiency of Financial Intelligence in Promoting Integrity and Combating Crime: A Case Study of Nigeria; The Dark Web: Cryptocurrencies and Blochchain: Special Presentation on the Future of Money; Blockchain Technology and Criminal Use and Abuse: A Law Enforcement Perspective, among others.
In 2013, the retired AIG spoke on Accreditation Standards and the Future of Higher Education in Nigeria at the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. He also attended a conference of International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in Philadelphia, USA the same year before proceeding to London in September where he delivered a lecture on: Money Laundering and the Rising Trans-Border Crime – The Effect on National Security. Another presentation entitled: Corporate Fraud: Insider Abuse in Financial Institutions and the Implications, was made in London with a focus on developing economy. It was in collaboration with City of London Police, United Kingdom.
Within Nigeria, Ogunsakin is known to have delivered several lectures bordering on anti-fraud criminality. They include: Threat Identification, Analysis and Control, a speech he made to Local Government Officials in Cross River State (Feb. 2011); Techniques of Criminal Investigation, a lecture he gave to Staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in May 2011; and Training Programme on Basic Banking Operations for Officers, a lecture for personnel of Financial Malpractices Investigation Unit (FMIU), November 2012. Still in 2012, he spoke to financial crime investigators and prosecutors at the CBN, NDIC and AMCON on: The Dynamics of Cashless Economy and Emerging Methods in Financial Crime. Among the lectures he gave in 2013 in Nigeria were: Fraud Detection and Prevention in Corporate Organizations; and The Role of Stakeholders in Sustainable Banking Practice in Nigeria – Law Enforcement Agent Perspective.
A brief look at landmark cases that involved his expertise reveals that between 1991 and 1992, Ogunsakin led investigations into $20million fraudulent transfer from NEPA Accounts in London/USA to a personal account in a Geneva Bank. Funds were recovered, suspects apprehended and charged to court; he led investigations into fraud on NIDB Accounts in Britain and Switzerland. Suspects were apprehended and charged to court; and spearheaded another investigation into Nigerian Re-Insurance Corporation fraudulent transfer of funds from its accounts in London/France to Taiwan, Hong Kong. Funds were recovered, suspects arrested and charged to court.
In 1993, Ogunsakin led investigations into the kidnapping of a Briton, John Hillman by Nigerian fraudsters for a ransom of $380, 000 (which was yet to be paid). Victim was rescued, while suspects were apprehended and charged to court. In 1994, he worked with the Canadian Police alongside troops to unveil visa racketeering syndicate which specialized in forging of Egyptian and Canadian visas in Nigeria. Culprits were apprehended and repatriated to China.
In 1996, he led investigations into fraudulent transfer of US$5million from Intercontinental Merchant Bank Ltd Account to Banks in Bahamas, Canada and USA. The total sum was recovered, while suspects were arrested and charged to court. Later in the same year, he led another investigation into the case of hijack of a Nigerian vessel and murder of its crew members on the West African Coast. Suspects were apprehended, prosecuted and jailed in Guinea- Conakry.
Between 2000 and 2002, Ogunsakin served as a member of the Federal Government Investigative Panel on Education Tax Fund. About N7.5billion was recovered and paid into CBN Accounts at the FIRS. He served as Chairman of the investigative panel on Jos fire disaster; Member, Panel of Inquiry into Activities and Account of Nigerian Coal Corporation; Member, Panel of Inquiry into the Petition Against Accounting Officers of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals. In 2003, he investigated a N21 million INEC fraud case and had the amount recovered. He also led investigations the same year for the recovery of N650 million MTEL funds. In 2005, he served as member of investigation team on Apo killings.
Still in 2005, Ogunsakin led a combined team of the police, DSS and EFCC officers to dismantle the notorious Oluwole Street, which had served as heaven of certificate forgery in Nigeria. Perpetrators were arrested, vital evidence recovered and 17 suspects convicted. In 2007, he served as Member of the Federal Government Administrative Panel on Corrupt Politicians.
In 2008, the retired AIG chaired the Federal Government Panel of Inquiry on the African Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). About $480 million was recovered and paid into Federal Government Account at JP. Morgan Bank, New York, USA. He served, in 2010 and 2012 as Member, Federal Government Standing Committee on Prison Decongestion, and Member, Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payment.
TUNDE JOHNSON OGUNSAKIN is also an author of two books: A Review of Effective Tax Regime in Nigeria, and Police Investigation in a Democratic Society. At the last count, he has been to 18 countries across the world in pursuit of financial crime offenders. When Ogunsakin is not chasing suspected criminals, he is likely to be seen either playing squash, reading a book or dancing to traditional Ekiti music. Married with a happy family, Tunde displays a quiet mien with creative and analytical mind.
