Civil society demands immediate compliance with court orders on reinstatement of illegality retired police officers

The Civil Society Forum for Police Reform led by Comrade Ibrahim Ilyasu has renewed its call on the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to uphold the rule of law by immediately complying with subsisting court judgments ordering the reinstatement of illegally retired police officers.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the Forum noted with concern that despite clear and unambiguous pronouncements by the National Industrial Court (NIC), the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and the Police Service Commission (PSC) have continued to act in defiance of judicial authority, thereby undermining police reform efforts and national security.

The Forum recalled that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Abuja, in Suit No: NICN/ABJ/28/2025, presided over by Honourable Justice R. B. Hasstrup, ordered the immediate reinstatement of senior police officers from Courses 18, 19, and 20, who were unlawfully and forcefully retired by the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission.

The affected officers, represented in court by ACP Chinedu Emengaha, ACP Victor Chilaka, ACP Egwu Otu, CSP Sylvester Ebosele, CSP Sunday Okuguni, CSP Asuquo Inyang, CSP Kalu Chikozie, and CSP Adetu Omoteso, successfully established that they were retired without due process and had not attained the mandatory retirement age stipulated by law.

In its judgment, the Court unequivocally held that the circulars issued by the Police authorities purporting to retire the officers were unlawful, null, and void.

Justice Hasstrup set aside the circular of 31st January 2025, as well as subsequent actions by the Police Service Commission, describing them as an attempt to sit on appeal over a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The circular is hereby set aside. All the claimants are entitled to the reliefs sought. The Defendants are directed to recall the claimants to continue their service accordingly,” the Court ruled.

The Civil Society Forum for Police Reform observed that this judgment mirrors earlier court decisions, including the April 2022 NIC judgment ordering the reinstatement of disengaged officers from Courses 33, 34, and 35 of the Nigeria Police Academy, judgments which also remain largely unenforced.

According to the Forum, the persistent refusal to obey court orders by institutions charged with enforcing the law constitutes a grave threat to constitutional democracy and public confidence in the justice system.

A senior legal practitioner reacting to the judgment described the conduct of the Police authorities as “a clear act of institutional sabotage and a dangerous precedent that poses a threat to national security.”

The Forum stressed that no society can sustain peace, discipline, or reform within its security architecture when court judgments are selectively obeyed or deliberately ignored.

The Civil Society Forum for Police Reform therefore calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as Commander-in-Chief and a strong advocate of rule of law, to urgently intervene by directing the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission to fully and immediately comply with all subsisting court judgments, regularize the officers’ appointments, and restore them to service without further delay.

The Forum expressed confidence that decisive presidential action will reaffirm the supremacy of the law, strengthen police morale, and demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to justice, accountability, and genuine police reform.