The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the Police Service Commission challenging the reinstatement of 455 retired police officers. The appellate court, in a ruling delivered on Wednesday, upheld the September 30, 2025 judgment of the National Industrial Court, which had nullified the forceful retirement of the officers and ordered their immediate reinstatement with full salary arrears. Justice R.B. Haastrup of the National Industrial Court had previously ruled that the retirements, carried out on January 31, 2025, were illegal. The affected officers, including AIG Idowu Owohunwa, AIG Ben Igwe and DCP Simon Lough, had filed suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025 seeking redress. The court also barred the Police Service Commission and former Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun from taking further retirement actions. The commission appealed, but a three-judge panel led by Justices Okorowo, Banjoko and Abang dismissed the case. This followed the March 16, 2026 dismissal of a similar appeal by Egbetokun and the Force Secretary, which the court termed frivolous. The ruling settles legal questions around the appointment dates of Cadet ASP Courses 18, 19 and 20. Stakeholders now expect IGP Olatunji Disu and the commission to implement the judgment without delay.
The appeal court's affirmation of the reinstatement of 455 police officers exposes the overreach of the Police Service Commission and the former Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun, whose joint decision to retire the officers was not only legally flawed but executed without due process. That the court described the IGP's earlier appeal as frivolous underscores the weakness of the case mounted by the police leadership, revealing a pattern of acting beyond statutory authority.
The controversy originated from the January 31, 2025 retirement of senior officers, including AIG Owohunwa and AIG Igwe, based on disputed interpretations of appointment dates for Cadet ASP batches 18, 19 and 20. The National Industrial Court's intervention and now the appellate court's backing affirm that administrative convenience cannot override constitutional and procedural safeguards. This judgment reinforces judicial checks on executive power within security institutions.
For the 455 officers, the ruling restores not just jobs and back pay but professional dignity after being unceremoniously pushed out. Their prolonged legal battle also highlights the precariousness of tenure for senior police officials, who remain vulnerable to abrupt administrative decisions without clear legal basis.
The case fits a broader pattern of institutional overreach in Nigeria's security sector, where retirements and appointments are often politicized or arbitrarily enforced. With IGP Olatunji Disu now in charge, compliance with the court's order sets a precedent for rule-based governance in the force.
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