Major Shake-Up Rocks Nigerian Police

The appointment of a new Acting Inspector-General of Police has reignited a fierce national debate over the controversial practice of compulsorily retiring senior officers, highlighted by the tragic legal victory of the late Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Moses Ambakina Jitoboh.

The discussion gained fresh momentum following a post shared on Wednesday by human rights lawyer and academic, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, on his X handle.

Odinkalu, in his post drew attention to a 2023 purge that saw the exit of several top-ranking officers following the appointment of Kayode Egbetokun as IG of Police.

At the centre of this storm is a landmark judgment that declared such retirements as unconstitutional, delivered just days after the man who fought for it was laid to rest.

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Moses Jitoboh’s Case

When Egbetokun was appointed in June 2023, the Police Service Commission compulsorily retired then-54-year-old DIG Jitoboh, despite him having several years remaining before the statutory retirement age of 60.

The PSC had justified the move by citing a “police tradition” of retiring senior officers when a junior is promoted over them to avoid “status reversal.”

Jitoboh, refusing to accept the decision, sued the PSC and the Nigeria Police Force at the National Industrial Court in Suit No: NICN/ABJ/274/2023.

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In the lawsuit, he contended that his appointment was protected by statutory provisions and could not be cut short based on a policy decision that conflicted with the law.

In a landmark judgment delivered on January 13, 2025, Hon. Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae held that Jitoboh’s compulsory retirement was void, illegal, and unconstitutional.

The court ruled that the PSC lacked the power to arbitrarily truncate the career of a senior officer who had neither attained the mandatory age nor served the required 35 years.

Justice Obaseki-Osaghae was scathing in her evaluation of the PSC’s “status reversal” policy, stating, “The reasons proffered in the extract from the minutes, and the notice of compulsory retirement issued by the Police Service Commission are at best mere statements of policy intent; they have no force of law, and they are in conflict with the provisions of the Public Service Rule.”

The court further held that the PSC failed to show any law that empowered it to retire a public officer with no blemish before their statutory time.

“The state of the law today is that Moses Jitoboh cannot be compulsorily retired from service by the Police Service Commission unless he has attained 60 years of age or 35 years of service… The Court finds that Moses Jitoboh has been in the service of the Nigeria Police Force since 1994 without any allegations of wrongdoing,” it said.

In a tragic twist of fate, the victory was a hollow one for the Jitoboh family as DIG Jitoboh passed away on December 28, 2024, just two weeks before the verdict in his case was delivered. He was 54 years old.

Despite his death, the court proceeded to grant the following reliefs: “A Declaration that Jitoboh remains a DIG until June 10, 2029, when he would have served 35 years.

“An Order for the PSC to pay all outstanding salaries and allowances.

“General Damages of ₦50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira) for the “unwarranted embarrassment” and “stigma” caused by the unlawful retirement.

“Cost of Action of ₦750,000.00.”

Odinkalu, reflecting on the judgment, noted that neither the PSC nor the Nigeria Police Force filed an appeal against the ruling, effectively admitting that the purge was a legal error.

Impending Shake-up Under New IGP

The ghost of the Jitoboh judgment now haunts the current transition. The newly appointed Acting IGP, Olatunji Disu, has only 48 days remaining before he hits the mandatory retirement age of 60.

Historically, such an appointment triggers a mass exit of senior officers.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that at least 29 senior police officers were set to be fired including senior Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs) and Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) following the removal of Egbetokun from office.

An internal list already circulating within the Force suggests that at least eight Deputy Inspectors-General, including Yahaya Abubakar (Finance), Adebola Hamzat (Logistics), Adebowale Williams (ICT), and Frank Mbah (Training), may be forced into retirement to maintain the command hierarchy.