The Police Service Commission (PSC) has refuted media reports alleging that the National Industrial Court ordered the immediate reinstatement of 196 police officers, including high-ranking officials such as AIG Idowu Owohunwa and DCP Simon Lough, SAN.
In a statement released Friday, the Commission clarified the contents of a recent court judgment and corrected what it termed a misrepresentation by a Sahara Reporters article published on October 2nd, 2025.
The controversy centres on the judgment delivered on September 30, 2025, by Hon. Justice R.B Haastrup in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/28/2025, involving ACP Chinedu Ambrose Emengaha and others versus the Police Service Commission.
While the PSC acknowledged the court’s ruling, it stated emphatically that “Nothing in the above decision of the court specifically orders the reinstatement of the officers as alleged by the Sahara Reporters, or specifically mentions any other officer.”
The initial media reports claimed the court had ordered the reinstatement of officers from Cadet ASP Courses 18, 19, and 20 who were retired in early 2025 over an alleged age falsification scandal.
According to the PSC, the court’s judgment primarily focused on affirming the officers’ original dates of appointment and protecting them from premature retirement. The key declarations from the court included, The officers’ dates of first appointment are not subject to review by the PSC. Members of Cadet ASP Courses 18, 19, and 20 who have not served 35 years or reached the age of 60 are excluded from the retirement directive issued in January 2025, The court set aside the PSC’s retirement directive as it pertained to the officers in the specified courses and A perpetual injunction was granted, restraining the PSC from illegally reviewing the appointment dates or unlawfully retiring members of these courses before they reach the mandatory retirement age or years of service.
Crucially, the Commission pointed out that the senior officers specifically named in the media reports, AIG Idowu Owohunwa, AIG Benneth Igweh, and DCP Simon Lough, have filed a separate and distinct lawsuit (Suit No. NICN/ABJ/88/2025) challenging their retirement, which is still awaiting the court’s attention.
The PSC has stated that it is currently studying the court’s decision and may exercise its right to appeal.
“The Commission is a responsible organisation with one of its cardinal principles as ‘obedience to the rule of law’, and it will not do anything to disparage the sanctity of the judiciary,” the statement concluded.
