475 Police Officers Recalled After Controversial Retirement, Ordered for Mandatory Induction

475 Police Officers Recalled After Controversial Retirement, Ordered for Mandatory Induction

The Nigeria Police Force reinstates 475 senior officers following court victory, with AIGs Owohunwa and Igwe among those returning for compulsory six-month training at Police Staff College, Jos.

The Nigeria Police Force has ordered the reinstatement of 475 senior police officers who were previously retired under the contentious “merger of service” policy, directing them to report for a compulsory six-month induction programme at the Police Staff College, Jos. The directive follows a court ruling that nullified their retirement, marking one of the largest single recalls of senior officers in the Force’s recent history.

The directive was contained in a confidential letter dated July 31, 2026, signed by Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector-General of Police Bode Akinbamilowo, on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police. The communication was addressed to Assistant Inspectors-General across the country’s 17 police zones, Commissioners of Police in all states, and the Commandant of the Police Staff College, Jos. The officers were initially retired following a Police Service Commission (PSC) decision reached at its First Extraordinary Meeting on January 31, 2025, which approved the implementation of the disputed merger of service policy. However, the National Industrial Court, in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025, overturned the retirements, ruling that the date of first appointment of the affected officers, as contained in their appointment letters, was not subject to review by the defendants. The Court of Appeal subsequently affirmed the ruling in April 2026. The PSC later approved the regularisation of the officers’ dates of first appointment at its plenary meeting on June 25, 2026, in compliance with the court judgment.

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Among the senior officers named on the recall list are AIG Idowu Owohunwa (AP/No 50645), who was appointed on August 15, 1996, as part of Force Entrants Cadet ASP Course 19/1996; AIG Benneth Chinedu Igwe (AP/No 50703), also appointed on August 15, 1996, under the same course; AIG Uche Ifeanyi Henry (AP/No 57903), appointed on May 1, 2000, as part of Force Entrants Cadet ASP Course 20/2000; and DCP Simon Asamber Lough (AP/No 57917), also appointed on May 1, 2000, under the same course. The affected officers span multiple entrant courses dating back to 1992 through 2012, cutting across ranks from Assistant Inspector-General down to Superintendent of Police. Other prominent officers recalled include AIG Joseph O. Eribo, CP Fidelis Ndubuisi Ogarabe, SP Olasukanmi Lateef Olujide, CSP Sanusi Amiru, CSP Grace Idowu Agboola, CSP Oluwadare Ezekiel Ayeni, CSP Angela Agabe, DCP Akinbayo Olasukami Olasoji, DCP Louis Chike Nwabuwa, ACP Benjamin Okehielam Okwara, and CSP Rita A.A. Inoma-Abbey, PhD.

The Force Secretary instructed all zonal commands and state police commissioners to ensure that affected officers are contacted and directed to report to the Police Staff College for the mandatory training programme. He further instructed them to “locate and warn” the officers to report for the induction course. The induction programme has been scheduled in two phases, with documentation and arrival taking place between August 1 and August 16, 2026, while the six-month induction proper will run from August 17, 2026, to February 16, 2027. The Inspector-General directed the Commandant of the Police Staff College to submit the list of all documented participants on or before August 24, 2026, stressing that “lateness will not be tolerated.” Copies of the directive were circulated to the IGP’s Secretariat and the Deputy Inspectors-General overseeing Finance and Administration, Operations, Logistics and Supply, Investigation, Training and Development, Research and Planning, Information and Communication Technology, Intelligence, as well as the Assistant Inspector-General in charge of Police Accounts and Budget to ensure the smooth implementation of the induction exercise.

Official records accompanying the directive show revised retirement timelines for the recalled officers following the court-ordered reinstatement. AIG Idowu Owohunwa now has a new retirement date of July 20, 2030, while AIG Benneth Chinedu Igwe is now scheduled to retire on October 7, 2028, and DCP Simon Asamber Lough will retire on May 14, 2029. Several officers on the list are already approaching retirement, with ACP Benjamin Okwara expected to retire in December 2026, while CSP Sanusi Amiru is due for retirement in February 2027.

The matter arose after the Police Service Commission, working with the police leadership, retired the senior officers in January 2025 over discrepancies in service records and alleged age falsification. However, the officers challenged their forced retirement from the police force, arguing they had neither completed 35 years of pensionable service nor reached the mandatory retirement age of 60. The case, filed by ACP Chinedu Ambrose Emengaha and seven others, also involved a separate suit filed by the three senior officers — AIG Owohunwa, AIG Igwe, and DCP Lough — which had been pending before the court. The reinstatement represents one of the largest single recalls of senior officers in the Force’s recent history and effectively overturns a retirement exercise that had sparked widespread controversy within the police establishment. The development raises questions about the Police Service Commission’s recruitment and retirement policies, as well as the implementation of the merger of service policy that led to the initial mass retirement.

475 Police Officers Recalled After Controversial Retirement, Ordered for Mandatory Induction