A fresh legal hurdle has emerged in the protracted dispute over the forced retirement of senior police officers, as the National Industrial Court in Abuja halted the police hierarchy from reinstating graduates of Cadet ASP Courses 18, 19 and 20 into the Nigeria Police Force.
The controversy dates back to 31 January 2025, when the Police Service Commission, acting alongside police leadership, compulsorily retired 455 senior officers, including prominent figures such as AIG Idowu Owohunwa, AIG Ben Igwe and DCP Simon Lough. The affected officers challenged the move at the industrial court, seeking reinstatement and the settlement of outstanding entitlements.
On 30 September 2025, Justice R.B. Haastrup nullified the forced retirements, directing the immediate reinstatement of the officers alongside the payment of their salaries and allowances. The court also restrained the PSC and the former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, from taking further actions regarding the retirements. Appeals filed by the commission and police authorities failed, with a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, which comprises Justices Okorowo, Banjoko and Abang, affirming the lower court’s judgment following the striking out of a separate appeal by the Inspector-General and Force Secretary on 16 March 2026.
Despite the appellate court affirming the reinstatement order, the latest intervention stems from a suit marked NICN/KN/51/2026, brought by Advocacy for Human Rights and Cultural Values for Development Initiatives. Supported by a 29-paragraph affidavit deposed by Sambo Jibril Jada, the group’s originating summons sought to block the enforcement of the appellate decision and freeze the reinstatement process pending a full hearing.
In a ruling delivered on 22 September 2026, Justice Buhari Sani granted an interim injunction restraining the relevant authorities from enforcing the decision. According to a Certified True Copy of the ruling obtained by The PUNCH on Monday, the court ordered the first, second and fifth defendants, alongside their officers, agents and privies, to refrain “from implementing, giving effect to or enforcing the decision approving the reinstatement” of the affected officers.
Justice Sani further directed all parties “to maintain the status quo existing immediately before the decision to reinstate” the officers pending the determination of the application for an interlocutory injunction. The applicant was ordered to serve the ruling, the originating summons and the motion on notice within three days. The case has been adjourned until 30 September 2026 for the hearing of the interlocutory injunction application.