By John Azu
The National Industrial Court in Abuja has set aside an order stopping the reinstatement of 455 senior police officers, including Commissioners Benneth Igwe and Simon Lough and Assistant Inspector-General of Police Idowu Owohunwa, who were retired from service before attaining the mandatory retirement age.
Justice Buhari Sani, in a ruling on Monday, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to issue the initial ex parte order of September 22 because it was made without adequate information.
The judge said although the court was moved to issue the order to prevent possible damage to the res, it later became clear that the action being restrained was not an administrative decision but the implementation of a subsisting judgment delivered by the court in 2025 and affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
“If the decision complained of is the execution of a valid, subsisting judgment, the court cannot restrain its implementation as if it were an unlawful administrative act. To do so would be to set the court against its own judgment,” he said.
Justice Sani, whose vacation was about to expire, directed that the matter be returned for reassignment, after which a new hearing date would be communicated to the parties.
The ex parte application was filed by a non-governmental organisation, Advocacy for Human Rights and Cultural Values for Development Initiative, against the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The NGO had challenged the subsisting judgments directing the reinstatement of the officers, whose recall was already being implemented through a refresher course for affected officers from the ranks of Chief Superintendent of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police.
Arguing the matter, counsel to the affected officers, Gordy Uche (SAN), submitted that the NGO’s ex parte application to stop implementation of the judgment amounted to an abuse of court process.
He said the application had disrupted the training of the 455 officers and demanded N1 billion in damages.
However, counsel to the NGO, Yunusa Abdulsalam (SAN), argued that the court merely restrained the police from taking further action pending the hearing of the matter.
He contended that, having presented their arguments, the affected parties were wrong to seek to set aside the order or claim damages.
Abdulsalam also argued that the issue of Section 18(8) of the Police Act was not determined in the earlier judgment.
The affected officers, who are members of Cadet ASP Courses 18, 19 and 20 Force Entrants, had challenged their compulsory retirement before the age of 60 in suit No. NICN/ABJ/345/2019 filed on their behalf by ACP Ambrose Emengaha, ACP Victor Odeme Chilaka, ACP Egwu Otu, CSP Sylvester Robinson Ebosele, CSP Asuquo Inyang, CSP Kalu Chikezie and CSP Adetu Omoteso.
In its judgment delivered on September 30, 2025, the National Industrial Court, presided over by Justice R. B. Haastrup, ordered the reinstatement of the affected officers and restrained further unlawful retirement of officers who had not attained the mandatory retirement age of 60.
The Police Service Commission appealed the judgment in appeal No. CA/AB/PRE/CV/1829MI/2025.
However, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment, holding that the implementation of the order by the Inspector-General of Police and the Force Secretary, including the recall of the affected officers, had created rights in favour of numerous officers who were not parties to the appeal.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Adebukola Banjoko on April 14, 2026, the Court of Appeal held that setting aside the judgment at that stage would prejudice third-party rights, disrupt settled expectations and undermine administrative stability.
“The Court must lean in favour of preserving certainty and stability in public administration,” the court held.