Police officers of Courses 33, 34, and 35 have accused the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and his Force Secretary of discrimination.
This comes after the officers obtained a court order for their immediate reinstatement into the Force, but the order has been ignored by the police hierarchy.
The officers, who were forcefully retired from the Force, had taken the IGP and Police Service Commission (PSC) to the Industrial Court, claiming that their retirement was illegal as they had not attained the required 60 years of age or 35 years of service.
The court ruled in their favor, directing their reinstatement into the Force.
However, since the judgment was delivered in September 2021 by Justice O. O. Oyewunmi, the succeeding IGPs have neglected or refused to abide by the court ruling and have not appealed against the judgment.
The affected officers pointed out that some of their colleagues, including AIG, FCID Annex, Alagbon, Owohunwa Idowu; CP Ben Igwe; FCT Command CP, Peter Okpara; ACP Obo Ukam, and ACP Akpan Brown, were beneficiaries of the court judgment and are still in the Force.
The court held that the decision of the Police Service Commission, in relation to the regularisation of the date of first appointment of all members of Courses 33, 34, and 35, is valid and subsisting.
It also stopped the plan or attempt to retire some of the officers who have not reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 years and who have not put in 35 years of pensionable service in the Force.
Despite the implementation of earlier judgments of the same court involving other police officers, the Police authorities have chosen to ignore the judgment involving Courses 33, 34, and 35.
The PSC has written to the IGP for compliance, but nothing has been done in this regard.
The affected officers are now calling for justice and compliance with the court order, stating that they have been denied their rights and privileges.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, advised them to be patient and send representatives to meet with the police hierarchy to discuss the matter mutually.
The Police Service Commission spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, referred inquiries to the Force PRO, stating that he was not in a proper picture of the matter.
As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen whether the Police authorities will comply with the court order and reinstate the affected officers, or if further legal action will be necessary to ensure justice is served.
