Rule of Law Under Threat: Civil Society Urges Tinubu to Enforce Court Orders on Police Reinstatement
By The People’s Voice Nigeria News
The Civil Society Forum for Police Reform has called on the Federal Government and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to immediately comply with subsisting court judgments ordering the reinstatement of police officers who were unlawfully retired, warning that continued disobedience to court orders poses a serious threat to the rule of law and national security.
The call was made at a press conference in Lagos, where the Forum, led by Comrade Ibrahim Ilyasu, expressed deep concern over what it described as the persistent defiance of judicial authority by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Commission (PSC).
According to the Forum, clear and unambiguous judgments of the National Industrial Court (NIC) have been willfully ignored, despite their binding nature, thereby undermining ongoing police reform efforts and eroding public confidence in the justice system.
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 — 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 proved before the court that their retirement was carried out without due process and before they attained the mandatory retirement age prescribed by law.
In its judgment, the Court unequivocally held that the circulars issued by the Police authorities to effect the retirements were unlawful, null, and void. Justice Hasstrup consequently set aside the circular dated 31st January 2025 and all subsequent actions taken by the Police Service Commission, describing them as an attempt by administrative bodies to sit on appeal over the 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 noted that the judgment aligns with earlier decisions of the National Industrial Court, including the April 2022 ruling ordering the reinstatement of disengaged officers from Courses 33, 34, and 35 of the Nigeria Police Academy judgments which, according to the Forum, also remain largely unenforced.
The Forum warned that the continued refusal of institutions charged with enforcing the law to obey court orders constitutes a grave danger to constitutional democracy. A senior legal practitioner, reacting to the development, described the conduct of the Police authorities as “a clear act of institutional sabotage and a dangerous precedent capable of undermining national security.”
The Forum stressed that no society can sustain peace, discipline, or meaningful reform within its security architecture when court judgments are selectively obeyed or deliberately ignored by those entrusted with the enforcement of the law.
Consequently, the Civil Society Forum for Police Reform called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief and a known advocate of the 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 affected officers’ appointments, and restore them to service without further delay.
The Forum expressed confidence that decisive presidential intervention would reaffirm the supremacy of the law, boost police morale, and demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to justice, accountability, and genuine police reform.
