COURT HALTS REINSTATEMENT OF 455 RETIRED POLICEMEN

The National Industrial Court in Abuja has temporarily stopped the police authorities from implementing the reinstatement of 455 senior police officers who were compulsorily retired in January 2025.

Justice Buhari Sani, in a ruling delivered on September 22, 2026, issued an interim injunction restraining the relevant authorities from implementing or enforcing the decision to reinstate graduates of Cadet ASP Courses 18, 19 and 20 of the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano.

The court also ordered the parties to maintain the status quo that existed before the decision to reinstate the officers.

The ruling followed an application by Advocacy for Human Rights and Cultural Values for Development Initiatives, which challenged the reinstatement of the affected officers.

The organisation had asked the court to stop the enforcement of the decision pending the determination of its originating summons and application for an interlocutory injunction.

The court directed the applicant to serve the ruling, the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction and the originating summons within three days.

The case has been adjourned until September 30, 2026, when the court is expected to hear the application for an interlocutory injunction.

The development follows a previous legal battle over the retirement of the 455 officers. In September 2025, the National Industrial Court had nullified their retirement and ordered their immediate reinstatement, including the payment of salaries and allowances.

The Police Service Commission and police authorities appealed the judgment. However, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal later dismissed the commission’s appeal and upheld the lower court’s decision.

The appellate court had also earlier struck out a separate appeal filed by the Inspector-General of Police and the Force Secretary in connection with the matter.

The affected officers had been retired on January 31, 2025, with senior officers including AIG Idowu Owohunwa, AIG Ben Igwe and DCP Simon Lough among those affected.

The latest interim injunction has now placed the implementation of their reinstatement on hold pending further proceedings before the National Industrial Court.